TOP 50 RICHEST WOLRD FOOTBALLERS...46

                                                       ASHLEY COLE

Ashley Cole was born the 20th of December 1980 and currently plays for Chelsea and the the Three lions. Cole is considered by many critics and fellow professional players as one of the best defenders of his generation^] and by some to be even the best left back in the world. Born in London, Cole began his youth career at Arsenal and made his full debut for the club in November 1999, going on to make a further 228 appearances, scoring nine goals. With Arsenal he won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and was an integral member of "invincibles" team of the 2003–04 season, who went the entire league season undefeated. Cole who is a distant relative of American singer Mariah Carey has been an England international since 2001 and played at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, as well as Euro 2004 and 2012. He was voted England player of the year in 2010. As of Feb 2013, has won 100 caps, making him England's most capped full back and most capped black player.

                                                         

                                                             

  

CLUB CAREER

ARSENAL: 1999–2006

Cole started his career by joining his local club, Arsenal, whom he had supported as a child. At the age of 18, on 30 November 1999, he made his first team debut in the League Cup against Middlesbrough; Arsenal lost 1–3 on penalties after the match ended 2–2 at the end of extra time. On 25 February 2000,he signed his first professional contract. His Premier League debut came on 14 May 2000 against Newcastle United Before he fully broke into the Arsenal side, he spent part of the 1999-2000 season on loan at Crystal palace where he played 14 league matches and scored one goal, a long-range half-volley against Blackburn Rovers. Cole caught a lucky break after an injury to Sylvinho, Arsenal's established left-back, in the autumn of the 2000-01 season gave Cole the opportunity to establish himself in the first team. He remained first-choice in the position even after Sylvinho's recovery.
With Arsenal, he won the FA premier League twice (in 2002 and 2004), and the FA cup three times (in 2002, 2003 and 2005, scoring in the penalty shootout in the final of the latter). In total he made 228 first-team appearances for Arsenal, scoring 9 goals. On 28 July 2006, Arsenal confirmed that Arsenal and Chelsea had been in "civil talks" about the player. Chelsea insisted they would not raise their £16million bid for Cole, but Arsenal held out for at a higher valuation of £25 million. Negotiations continued throughout August and looked to be heading for deadlock, but eventually Cole signed for Chelsea on 31 August for a fee of £5 million, with William Gallas being transferred from Chelsea to Arsenal as part of the same deal. The deal was closed after the transfer window had officially ended, and was not confirmed until an hour and a half after the deadline had passed. Arsenal had offered Cole a longer contract to stay at the club, but he had been left "trembling with anger" when they offered him wages of £55,000 per week, whereas Chelsea were offering him £90,000 a week. His wage increased to £120,000 a week when he signed a new contract in September 2009.
 

CHELSEA: 2006–

Cole was given the number three shirt at Chelsea, and made his first appearance for the club as a substitute in their 2–1 win over Charlton Athletic on 9 September. He issued a public statement concerning his transfer saying he "forgave" Arsenal for how he felt he was treated during his time there. Some Arsenal fans waved fake £20 notes with the player's face on them when Chelsea next met Arsenal at Stanford Bridge on 12 December. On 31 January 2007, Cole suffered a serious knee injury in the 3–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in a Premier League game, although after a scan it was revealed to be not as bad as first thought, with Chelsea optimistic that he would return before the end of the 2006–07 season. Cole did indeed make a return at the end of the season, playing in the last twelve minutes of the 2007 FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium against Manchester United. Chelsea emerged victorious 1–0 after extra-time with a goal scored by Didier Drogba, to win the 2007 FA Cup.He started all 38 league games for Chelsea in the 2010–11 season. He was awarded the Chelsea F.C. Player's Player of the Year award for the second time.
Cole also received praise for his role in the final against Bayern Munich on 19 May 2012, both for his defending, and for scoring in the decisive penalty shootout^.
                                                                 

                                                  

 

NETWORTH: goal.com and The independent puts the Londoner's worth at 17 million pounds which places him on the 46th position.