Ashley Cole is ready to walk out on Chelsea for nothing. The Daily Mail says Cole is adamant he will not sign the one-year extension on offer and is preparing to speak with foreign clubs, including Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, in January.

The England defender, back in Roy Hodgson's team for the World Cup qualifier against Poland on Tuesday night, is a victim of Chelsea's new policy for players over the age of 30.

If Cole, 31, and Frank Lampard, who is also out of contract next summer, quit Stamford Bridge, it will be confirmation that Roman Abramovich is breaking up his Champions League-winning team.