Michael Ballack regrets not retiring at Chelsea after leaving Stamford Bridge in 2010
Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has insisted he regrets leaving Chelsea ten years ago and wishes he had retired at Stamford Bridge.
Ballack spent four years at Chelsea after completing a much-talked move from Bayern Munich to West London in 2006. The German play-maker formed a combative partnership with Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Frenchman Claude Makelele in midfield, scoring 17 goals from midfield in 105 appearances for the Blues.
Ballack enjoyed a form of his life at Stamford Bridge during the 2009-10 season when he helped Carlo Ancelotti to lift his first Premier League and FA Cup titles but surprisingly the German International left at the end of the season.
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Chelsea offered Ballack a year renewal but he wanted two instead- something that the Blues were not ready to fulfill due to club’s policy for over age players, and that saw the midfielder left Stamford Bridge in 2010.
The former Bayern ace revealed on Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk podcast that he planned to end his career in the Premier League but the Blues only offered him a one-year extension at the end of the 2009-10 season.
“Carlo Ancelotti wanted me to stay but the club made a decision to only give players of that age a one-year contract. I wanted two.
“Today I can say maybe it was wrong, I should have stayed even for that one year.
“I could never imagine that I would go back to Bayer Leverkusen until the last day, I actually thought we would find a way at Chelsea. “I was really hoping I could stay until the end.”
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The signing of the German skipper in 2006 sparked happiness within the Blues Fraternity and the then manager José Mourinho embraced the inclusion the midfielder with much delight especially the kind of partnership he forms with Frank Lampard.
“How can Michael’s arrival affect Lampard and the team? It will affect it a lot because Lampard wants top players to play with him and the team want good players to improve the team. I look forward to working with them and look forward to playing both together.
“Is he the first of many? No. He is the first of a few because we don’t need a lot of players, just two or three very good players. We have now been champions for two consecutive years and we want to be more than that. We have already the team, now we need two or three world-class players to join the special team we have to make it even better than that.
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“Chelsea is very happy and we think English football should be very happy he plays for Chelsea and plays in the Premiership. We have a team of champions and to improve a team of champions we need champions. A champion is coming here to help follow our target for next year.”
The former winner of the German BundesLiga simply described his move to Stamford Bridge as ‘happy to be here’ and referred to London as a ‘nice place.’
“I am very happy to be here. They are very friendly people and London is a nice city,” said Ballack. “It is very special and I have good impressions. I asked some players about England – Robert Huth, Jens Lehmann – and they told me good things about this country and I am happy to be here.”
Ballack won the EPL in 2010, FA Cup in 2009 and 2010, League Cup in 2007, and sent Chelsea to the 2008 UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United.
