Ashley Cole 'knew divorce was coming'

Cheryl Cole's decision to file divorce papers came as no surprise to her estranged husband Ashley, a report has claimed.

According to The Mirror, the footballer knew that his marriage was over weeks ago and informed England boss Fabio Capello of the news, promising that it would not affect his performance at the World Cup.

Cheryl this week launched a divorce action at London's High Court, citing her partner's "unreasonable behaviour" for their break-up.

An FA source confirmed that Capello was "told about this a while ago".

The insider added: "It is a personal matter and so nothing to do with football in a sense. But often players say 'this is not going to be a problem' when there is no way of knowing if that is true."

Cheryl dumped Ashley in February following allegations that he had cheated on her with a number of women.