Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Juliano Belletti were released by Chelsea Wednesday as the Premier League and FA Cup champion started planning for next season. Their contracts expire at the end of the month and all three players are now free agents, the club said on its website. Ballack and Belletti are both approaching their 34th birthdays, while Cole's form has been dogged by injuries in recent seasons. Ballack, Germany's national team captain, was ruled out of the World Cup after the midfielder injured his ankle in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Portsmouth in the FA Cup final. He moved to Stamford Bridge four years ago after a glittering career with Bayern Munich. Ballack, who will be 34 in September, won three German league and cup doubles with Bayern before taking up the Premier League challenge. At international level, Ballack took Germany to the final of Euro 2008. His agent, Michael Becker, told German broadcaster RTL that the player, who is on holiday in the US and has been linked with a return to the Bundesliga, was “completely surprised” by the news. Becker said Ballack would have been willing to take a pay cut to stay at Chelsea and would have accepted a one-year deal with an option for a second. Germany coach Joachim Loew said Ballack had called him late Tuesday night, obviously to tell him about the news from Chelsea, but that he couldn't take the call and still had not been able to call the player back. “I know from what he'd told me before that he would have liked to stay in Chelsea. He also told me that he had several offers. I don't think there is any question of him ending his career. I think he still has two-three years he can play on a high level,” Loew said. Cole, who is with England at the World Cup in South Africa, has been at Chelsea for seven years since leaving West Ham. Along with United, the Londoner has been linked with two of Chelsea's city rivals, Arsenal and Tottenham. Though Arsenal finished third last season and has a strong track record of Champions League football, Spurs has now reached the competition's qualifiers for the first time and is coached by Harry Redknapp, Cole's former boss at West Ham where he came up through the ranks. Barca rewards Pedro, Xavi Barcelona have rewarded striker Pedro with an improved contract until 2015 and given midfielder Xavi options to his extend until 2016. The Spain internationals will put pen to paper before they fly to the World Cup Finals in South Africa, Barca said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.com) Wednesday. Pedro, 22, has agreed a one-year extension on his current deal after establishing himself in the first team with 23 goals in all competitions last season. He netted his first goal for Spain in its 6-0 rout of Poland in a World Cup warm-up ver Poland Tuesday. The player's buy-out clause increases from 75 to 90 million euros. Xavi, 30, has an agreement until 2014 but has the chance to extend the deal a further two more years if he plays at least 50 percent of the games in each of the preceding two seasons. The playmaker joined Barca as an 11-year-old and has made 527 appearances, second only to record holder Migueli, who played 26 games more.
