Unfortunately for Michael Ballack, he was plying his trade for Bayern Munich during a pont in their history where they weren't in league with Europe's elite. As such, the supporters grew frustrated, noticing his habit of 'choking' in crunch European games, with president Franz Beckenbauer even intimating that Ballack was 'saving his strength' for potential buyers. Needless to say, a swift yet acrimonious exit was on the cards in the summer of 2006, as the heavyweights on the continent circled for Europe's best free agent. With Real Madrid and both Milan clubs showing an interest, it was England which really inticed the German warrior, with both Chelsea and Manchester United in the hunt for his services.
''Yes, Manchester United wanted me. They came before Chelsea, but I didn't have discussions with Sir Alex Ferguson. At the time, United were not really good in the Champions League - they had gone out in the first round that year. But Chelsea were growing really quickly. I wanted to be a part of this. I saw we could reach something really big in the next few year.'' - Michael Ballack, April 2013.
In Ballack's defence, he did reach the Champions Leaue final and was a John Terry slip away from getting his hands on the trophy. As we all know, however, it was Manchester United who killed the Blues' dream for another year, leaving a disconsolate Ballack to possibly rue that decision he had made two years earlier. After all, he spent most of his Stamford Bridge tenure aiming to claw back the widening deficit between the two clubs.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
