Ashley Cole’s brief spell at Roma has come to an end. With Arsenal, he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups. With Chelsea, he won one Premier League title, four FA Cups, and a Champions League title. And with Roma, he was in that one picture where he stood an awkward distance from the rest of his teammates that became a meme.
But his time in Italy was so much more than that one image. Let’s take a fond look back on the end of an era…
There was the time he held up his shirt…
And the time he sat in on a Champions League press conference…
And the time he visited the Colosseum…
And, of course, there were his 16 utterly forgettable appearances for the club.
It was a pleasure to have played with you bro.I wish you all the best in the future.What a big person❤️ @TheRealAC3 pic.twitter.com/jg4SsMQAeG
— Radja Nainggolan (@OfficialRadja) January 19, 2016
He will be deeply missed by at least one person at Roma.
“I had offers from the USA, but I’m not ready to relax on a beach yet,” Cole told reporters upon signing with Roma in July 2014. Well, it seems he’s ready now, having taken the time to learn how to relax in Italy. Hopefully the beaches of Los Angeles are to his liking.