Ashley Cole Biography

Ashley Cole, born in London, England, on 20 December 1980, is an English former footballer who played as a defender for many clubs and also the England national team.

He is widely recognized by many pundits and football fans to be one of the best defenders of his era and by some, throughout the peak days of his career, as the best left-back in the world. He was born in the London Borough of Stepney, where he started his youth career with Arsenal FC and played his first game for the club in November 1999, going on to make a total of 228 appearances, scoring nine goals in those appearances.

While with Arsenal FC he won two English Premier League titles and three FA Cups and was a key member of "The Invincibles" team during the 2003-04 season. He also appeared in Arsenal FC's first Champions League final in 2006, but they were defeated 2-1 by FC Barcelona.

He completed a move to Chelsea FC in August 2006 after a lengthy transfer drama, and won several titles, notably the 2009-10 Premier League title, four FA Cups, one League Cup, one UEFA Champions League and one UEFA Europa League with London blues. By winning seven titles, Cole has won more FA Cups to date in history than any other footballer, and alongside Nichola Anelka he remains one of only two footballers to have won the double with two different clubs.

Related Article: 

All You Need to Know About Ashley Cole Biography

Since 2001 Cole has played for the England national team and played in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, and also Euro 2004 and Euro 2012. Cole was named England's Footballer of the Year in 2010. He earned his 100th cap in February 2013, making him the 12th most capped full-back and the most capped black player in the history of the England national team.

Ashley Cole Information

Now that we know him much better, in this section of

Ashley Cole biography

it is time to share some more information about him, such as

Ashley Cole nationality

, so you can get to know him much better.

Ashley Cole Bio

• Full Name: Ashley Donovan Cole

• Nickname: Cashley

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Ashley Cole Physical Stats

• Weight: 66 Kg

• Height: 1.76 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Black

Ashley Cole Football Information

• Position: Defender

• Jersey Number: 3

• Professional Debut: 1999

Ashley Cole Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 20 December 1980

• Birth Place: Stepney, England

• Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

• Nationality: English

Now stay tuned and keep on reading

Ashley Cole biography

as we are going to share some more information about him such as

Ashley Cole childhood.

Ashley Cole Early Life

Both Ashley and his younger brother Matthew have been raised by their mother Sue Cole and went to Bow School in Tower Hamlets. Surprisingly, Cole arrived at his first professional club - Arsenal - at the age of 17. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for the talented young left-back to make a name for himself: the Gunners gave Cole his first-team debut at the age of just 18.

Related Article: 

Ashley Cole Profile

Ashley was born in the London borough of Stepney in 1980. He began his career as a footballer as a youth player with his hometown club

. He signed a professional contract there on 25 February 2000, having already made his first-team debut on 30 November 1999 against

at the age of 18. However, this was not to be followed by another appearance for Arsenal for the rest of the season.

Before finally making his breakthrough at Arsenal in 2000/01, he was loaned out to

between February and May 2000, scoring one goal in 14 league matches. On his return, he was eventually able to make the most of Sylvinho's injury and Ashley covered for him so well from the autumn of 2000 that he retained the position once Sylvinho had recovered.

Alongside Tony Adams and Sol Campbell, Cole was now an indispensable part of the Arsenal defensive line that won the

and

double in 2002, the FA Cup again in the following two years and another league title as unbeaten champions in 2004. In addition to his defensive qualities, the left-back, who was only 23 years old, also had great offensive qualities in his partnership with Thierry Henry and Robert Pires. Arsenal's title collection was completed in 2005 with a cup final win over

, Cole scoring his penalty kick try at the Millennium Stadium.

In 2005, Cole was in contact with Arsenal's rivals

about a possible transfer. As he did so without informing his then current employer Arsenal, he was fined £100,000 by the Premier League, based on a meeting between Cole - in the presence of his advisor Jonathan Barnett - and Chelsea coach José Mourinho and chief executive Peter Kenyon, which was regarded as evidence of contract negotiations.

The appeal in August 2005 eventually did not change the guilty verdict, but the amount of the fine was reduced to £75,000. Chelsea FC and Mourinho himself were also fined £300,000 and £200,000 respectively, with the appeal in the latter case also reducing the fine to £75,000. Barnett's licence as an agent was revoked for a period of 18 months and he was also fined £100,000.

Cole signed a contract extension for a further year with Arsenal FC on 18 July 2005, but left the club a year later in deep bitterness. On 18 July 2006, he opened a public verbal battle when he had parts of his autobiography published in the tabloid newspaper The Sun, in which he made serious accusations against the Arsenal board.

There he complained that the club management had made him a "scapegoat" and that they had "thrown him to the sharks" during the transfer saga. For the official team photo for the 2006/07 season, Cole was excluded, which fueled speculations for Cole to become a Chelsea FC player in the near future.

Arsenal's official David Dein announced on 28 July that the club was in negotiations with Chelsea regarding the player Ashley Cole, but there was a major disagreement over the transfer fee, with Chelsea FC claiming that they would not increase their offer of £16 million and Arsenal FC demanding £25 million. 

Negotiations lasted almost the entire month of August and when the negotiations seemed to be going nowhere, the two clubs agreed that Cole would join Chelsea FC for five million pounds and that William Gallas would join Arsenal from Chelsea as compensation. Officially, the transfer was not completed until after the end of the transfer period and the move was not officially confirmed until an hour and a half after deadline day.

During the 2005/06 season, Cole had to sit out frequently due to injury. He returned at the end of the season for the

final against

, where he and his team lost 2-1. This was his last competitive game for Arsenal; Gael Clichy had already emerged in the recent years as the successor to Cole, who was eager to make the switch.

Now stay tuned and keep on reading

Ashley Cole biography

as we are going to share some more information about his Chelsea career.

Related Article: 

Chelsea FC

At Chelsea FC, Cole received the number 3 shirt and played for his new team for the first time on 9 September 2006 as a substitute for Wayne Bridge in a 2-1 win over

. In a public statement, he was quite conciliatory towards his old employers, but when he made his first appearance for Chelsea FC against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on 10 December, he was met with much disapproval from the opposing supporters, most notably as they waved fake £20 notes - with his likeness on them - and referred to him as "Cashley".

However, that did not detract from his fine performance in that match. Overall, Cole established himself in the Chelsea FC starting line-up and attracted particular attention in the match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, when he engaged in a thrilling duel with Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo in a 1-1 draw.

He suffered a knee injury in the 3-0 league win at home to

on 31 January 2007, but was diagnosed as less serious than previously thought. He recovered at the end of the season and Cole returned to the pitch for the final 12 minutes of the FA Cup final against Manchester United at the new Wembley Stadium, although manager Mourinho had previously categorically ruled out his participation in the final.

Having initially competed with Wayne Bridge for the left-back position, Cole won a regular place after Bridge's injury and took the Blues to the Champions League final against Manchester United in Moscow - although he scored his penalty kick, his second European final experience also ended in defeat. Under new coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, Cole at times played more offensively than ever before in his career, but after Scolari's departure he returned to his traditional place in left back under successor Guus Hiddink.

Shortly after his fifth FA Cup triumph, Cole signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea FC in September 2009. On 10 February 2010, he broke his left ankle in a match against Everton FC, resulting in a month-long forced break.

Cole celebrated the greatest triumph in Chelsea's history on 19 May 2012, winning the UEFA Champions League against FC Bayern Munich. He played in defense and, scored a goal in penalty shootout.

Related Article: 

AS Roma

Despite having numerous offers around the world on July 7, 2014 as a free agent he moved to

, signing a two-year contract, with the option for the club to extend the agreement for a further season. Cole was the first English player to wear the Giallorossi shirt (and the second British after John Charles). On August 30, he made his official debut against Fiorentina, a match that ended with a 2-0 win for the Roma. The following season, no longer in the club's plans, he was removed from the Giallorossi squad. On January 19, 2016 he terminated his contract.

LA Galaxy

On January 27, 2016, he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He became the captain of the team until the end of his MLS experience, which ended in December 2018. Now stay tuned and keep on reading Ashley Cole biography as we are going to share some more information about his Derby County career.

Derby County

On 21 January 2019 he signed a contract until the end of the season with

, a club in the Championship and coached by his former partner Frank Lampard. At the end of the season, his contract was not renewed. On 18 August 2019 he announced his retirement from playing professional football.

England National Team

Ashley Cole was selected for England's U20 team and played in the 1999 U20 World Cup, where his team suffered 3 defeats without scoring a goal.

After playing his debut for the

national team against

on March 28, 2001, he quickly established himself as a left full-back in front of Chris Powell and Wayne Bridge. He was a starting player at the 2002

and was one of the 4 English players in the Euro 2004 team alongside Sol Campbell, Wayne Rooney and club team-mate Frank Lampard.

Under new coach Roy Hodgson, he participated in the Euro 2012 where he performed well despite his missed penalty kick against

in the quarter-final on 24th June 2012.

After learning that he was not selected for the 2014 World Cup, where Leighton Baines and the young Luke Shaw was called up instead of him, Ashley Cole refused to be part of the list of 7 reserve players and announced the end of his international career on 11th May 2014.

Now stay tuned and keep on reading Ashley Cole biography as we are going to share some more information about his playing style.

Style of Play

He was a left-back capable of playing in attacking roles too. In addition he was a very fast player, as well as an excellent crosser of the ball and very good at tackling. His skills also included a good sense of position, determination, and stamina. In the best years of his career he was considered one of the best left-backs in the world.

Reception

As one of the greatest left-backs in the history of English football, Ashley Cole was undoubtedly a great player. Many fans, football critics and also other professional football players claim that Ashley Cole was the best left-back in the world during his peak days as a footballer.

Goal Celebration

Like many other defenders, Ashley Cole has not scored many goals during his career as a footballer. On the other hand, he never had a signature goal celebration and we always seen different goal celebrations from him.

Related Article: 

Ashley Cole outside Football

Cole published an autobiography entitled "My Defence", of which 4,000 copies were sold in the first six weeks of publication. His former team-mate Jens Lehmann in particular was critical of it, and Arsenal FC supporters also launched a campaign against Cole's autobiography book.

In 2011, it was announced that Ashley Cole will be doing business with American famous rapper Jay Z. The two celebrities wanted to open a restaurant in London. Ashley Cole has said at the time that he wanted to help the unemployed young people in London by creating jobs for them.

Ashley Cole Personal Life

In this section of Ashley Cole biography, we are going to take a deeper look at his personal life and share information about

Ashley Cole life story

and

Ashley Cole religion

. Stay tuned!

Family, Children and Relationships

In September 2004, Ashley Cole entered into a relationship with Girls Aloud vocalist Cheryl Tweedy when they lived in the same residential building in London. The couple married on 15 July 2006. However, almost two years later, in January 2008, the couple nearly split up following accusations that Cole was having affairs with three other women. Ashley Cole denied these claims and the couple remained together. The couple finally decided to seperate after four new allegations of cheating on 23 February 2010.

On 27 May 2010, it was reported in media that Cheryl officially filed for divorce and submitted her application to the High Court in London. It was said that Cheryl left their joint property worth well over 7 million euros to Ashley Cole.

Philanthropy

Ashley Cole, like many other famous footballers is always interested to participate in charities and supporting good causes. In March 2006, he was involved with “Million Children” campaign, a charity project which was designed to raise the country’s awareness about the number of British children who lived in emergency or unfit housing.

Ashley Cole joined the Everyman campaign of the Institute of Cancer Research to make people aware of testicular and prostate cancer, called 'Keep Your Eye on the Ball'. He has also been one of the supporters of the “Let's Kick Racism out of Football”, and once put up his car for sale to raise funds for the Marc Fisher Trust, a charity founded for Non-Lymphoma Hodgkin's patients.

Now stay tuned and keep on reading Ashley Cole biography as we are going to share some more information about his legal issues.

Related Article: 

Legal Issues

Colle had a few run-ins with the police. He was arrested on 4 March 2009 after insulting a police officer outside a nightclub in South Kensington. After being taken to the police station, he was fined £80 before being released. On 4 January 2010, Cole was charged with speeding, which occurred a few months back on November. This happened as he was driving 104 mph in a 50 mph zone on the A3 motorway in Kingston upon Thames, a residential area.

In his defence at Kingston Magistrates' Court his lawyers argued that the speed enforcement radar used by the officers was faulty. He also said that his actions were justifiable because he was trying to escape the Paparazzi. Finally, Cole was fined £1,000 and was banned from driving for four months.

Cole unintentionally shot a 21-year-old student with a .22-calibre air gun at the Chelsea Training Centre on 27 February 2011. He fired at Tom Cowan, a sports science student, from only five feet away, seemingly with no knowledge that the gun was loaded. Cole made a formal apology to Cowan.

Related Article: 

Ashley Cole Career Statistics

In this section of Ashley Cole biography, we want to take a look at his career and share some information about his playing career stats both on international and club level.

Club

During a 20 years club career between 1999 and 2019, Ashley Cole enjoyed playing 702 matches for six different club in England, United States and Italy and scored 21 goals. Many claim that the best days of his career was with Chelsea, where he played 338 matches, scoring 7 goals in 8 seasons, proving himself as one of the club legends.

His 7 seasons tenure at Arsenal was also very successful, however it didn’t ended well as he forced his way out of the club. For Arsenal, Ashley Cole has played a total of 228 matches and scored 9 goals.

International

From 2001 and 2014, Ashley Cole dominated the left-back position in the England national team and played 107 matches for his country. As a defender, he never managed to score a goal for Three Lions.

Related Article: 

Ashley Cole Honors

On club level, Ashley Cole has won many awards and titles with Arsenal and Chelsea, such as Premier League (2 times with Arsenal and 1 time with Chelsea), FA Cup (3 times with Arsenal and 4 times with Chelsea), FA Community Shield (2 times with Arsenal and 1 time with Chelsea), Football League Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, all with Chelsea. However, on international level, he never managed to win any awards and trophies with England.

Of his notable individual titles we can mention PFA Team of the Year, UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament, UEFA Team of the Year, Chelsea Players' Player of the Year, England Player of the Year and Premier League 20 Seasons Awards.

Read More:

Follow

 for