Ashley Cole is a mega-celebrity in England. He starred in the Premier League for over a decade with Arsenal and Chelsea, was a mainstay on the England National Team and was married to a star recording artist. He couldn't walk down the streets of London without getting mobbed.
Now 36, Cole plays for the LA Galaxy. While he still has a greater profile than the average Angeleno, he has an easier time flying under the radar on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
"It's a good thing," Cole says. "It's a little bit more quiet. Soccer players in LA can kind of just walk the streets. They have bigger people to take pictures of. They see Sylvester Stallone walking down the street, I don't think they are going to want an Ashley Cole picture, to be honest.
"I can take my son for walks and no one bothers me. Later on in my career, that was definitely what I was kind of aiming for. So I'm enjoying the soccer here and I'm enjoying the life, as well."
ThePostGame caught up with Cole at Frederick Douglass Academy last Tuesday in New York City, where representatives from Chelsea led a clinic with players from the FC Harlem youth program. Cole and former Chelsea teammate Michael Essien helped dedicate a new FC Harlem field,which will open in summer/fall 2018, below Riverside State Park.
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