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Ashley Cole to Roma: Former Chelsea defender completes move to Serie A giants

The 33-year-old arrived in Rome on Monday morning and has signed a two-year deal with the club

Tuesday 08 July 2014 10:49

Ashley Cole arrives in Rome to complete his move to Roma

(Twitter)

Ashley Cole has completed his move to Serie A giants Roma on a free transfer.

The former Chelsea left-back arrived in the Italian capital on Monday morning as expected and has now signed a two-year deal.

It has been reported that Roma have agreed to match Cole's wage demands - believed to be £150,000-a-week - in order to convince him to move to the Stadio Olimpico.

It is believed that Roma’s ability to offer Cole Champions League football and a regular first-team place has been the deciding factor in the move, given that their second-place finish in the Italian league last season sealed a return to Europe's elite competition.

The Giallorossi confirmed Cole's arrival after posting a picture on their official Twitter account.

It was expected that he would seek to complete a move to the MLS for a lucrative end to his career after enjoying an extended break in the USA.

Five great British exports who impressed abroad

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1/5Five great British exports who impressed abroad

Five great British exports who impressed abroad

Gareth Bale

The Welsh wing wizard moved to the Spanish giants from Tottenham for a world record fee of £85 million in 2013 and had a dream debut season. The 24-year-old scored 15 goals in all competitions, including the winner in the Champions League Final against Atletico Madrid, and has become an instant fans' favourite at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Five great British exports who impressed abroad

Chris Waddle

Widely regarded as one of the most talented English players of his generation, Waddle was courted by several European clubs after impressing for Tottenham. The winger eventually signed for Marseille in 1989 for a fee of £4.5 million - the third-highest fee in the world at the time - and after initially struggling to adapt to life in France - became a key figure for the French club, making 107 appearances, scoring 22 goals. He eventually returned to the UK with Sheffield Wednesday after three years abroad in France.

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Five great British exports who impressed abroad

David Beckham

As far as transfers go, they don't get much bigger than David Beckham's £25 million transfer to Real Madrid in 2003. A cult figure in English football, Beckham's publicised bust-up with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson led him to leaving for the Spanish giants to join the 'Galacticos' such as Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane. He made over 150 appearances for the Spanish giants, winning La Liga in his final season. He eventually left for LA Galaxy in 2007, and had short spells at AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain before retiring in 2013.

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Five great British exports who impressed abroad

Gary Lineker

After finishing as top scorer at the 1986 World Cup, Gary Lineker was signed by Barcelona coach Terry Venables for £2.8 million to partner Mark Hughes in an all-British attack. A prolific striker for club and country, Lineker had enjoyed fruitful spells at Leicester and Everton before his three-year spell in Spain, where he scored 52 goals in 138 appearances. Lineker agreed to join Tottenham in 1989 before an injury-plagued spell with Japanese side Nagoya Grampus Eight led to his retirement in 1994.

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Five great British exports who impressed abroad

Steve McManaman

Having spent 11 years at Liverpool, McManaman was constantly linked with a move abroad as he shot to fame due to his amazing technical ability. He became involved in a contract wrangle with Liverpool and eventually left on a free transfer, signing a £60,000-a-week deal with Real Madrid to make him the highest-paid British player at that point. McManaman quickly became a key figure at the club, and was named man of the match in the 2000/01 Champions League final as Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0. However, after much criticism from the Spanish press, McManaman returned to the Premier League with Manchester City before retiring in 2005.

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But it now appears Cole has chosen the Serie A title challengers for what appears to be the final stage of his career.

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