Joseph John "Joe" Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English international footballer who played as a midfielder for Liverpool from 2010 until 2013. The free signing of England international Cole after his release by Chelsea was glamourised by Liverpool as a major transfer coup, with Liverpool presenting the player with a lucrative four-year contract- reportedly worth as much as £100,000-per-week, plus a substantial signing on fee. His Anfield career however was blighted by injury and poor form. Performing only a bit-part role at Liverpool, he spent the 2011-12 season on loan at Lille before the club agreed to move him on to his boyhood club West Ham in the 2013 January transfer window.