Florent Malouda claims he has been banished from training with the Chelsea first team for what remains of his Stamford Bridge career.
Winger Malouda took to Twitter to reveal he had been ordered to train with the club's youth team, posting a picture of the headquarters of their under-21 squad, along with the message: "This is where I'll train for my last season with the blues !!!"
The 32-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract, was left out of Chelsea's squad for their Champions League group stage campaign.
Press Association Sport understands Malouda - who was nevertheless named in the Blues' squad for the first half of the Barclays Premier League season on Tuesday - has been segregated from the first team after failing to secure a move away this summer.
His banishment evoked memories of those of Nicolas Anelka and Alex by former boss Andre Villas-Boas last season, a move which reportedly did not go down well with their team-mates.
Malouda's circumstances are slightly different and it is understood Chelsea were willing to sell or loan him out during the transfer window - he was even linked with a return to former club Lyon ahead of last night's midnight transfer deadline in France.
He has not featured at all in any of the Blues' matchday squads this season and has been heavily touted for a move away for several weeks.
A transfer to Brazilian giants Santos reportedly collapsed earlier this summer due to the wage demands of the France winger, who has been at Chelsea for five years but has become increasingly peripheral.
He will doubtless be on good money and may have been reluctant to join a club where he would earn less, preferring to see out his current deal and move as a free agent at the end of the season.
Source: PA
