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Leverkusen's Voeller would want Ballack if price is right
Jun 10, 2010, 15:38 GMT
Hamburg - Bayer Leverkusen will try to get Germany captain Michael Ballack back if the price is right, the Bundesliga club's sports director, Rudi Voeller, said on Thursday.
'I will make no secret of this: If a player like Michael Ballack with his past is on the market then we are thinking about him,' Voeller told the Express daily.
Ballack played for Leverkusen 1999-2002, finishing second in the league twice with the western Germans and also reaching the Champions League and German cup final in 2002.
Ballack, 33, moved on to Bayern Munich and Chelsea. The English champions said on Wednesday that he would not get a new contract.
The playmaker Ballack, who has to sit out the World Cup due to injury, said he was still hungry for success and did not rule out a return to the Bundesliga. Ballack is a free agent but his salary could create problems for interested clubs.
'Normally a player like Michael is too big for us. A transfer would only be possible if the player accepts a pay cut,' Voeller said.
Ballack has been linked with other Bundesliga clubs, such as Schalke 04, SV Hamburg and VfL Wolfsburg. Werder Bremen were also named but said that Ballack is no issue for them.
There is also speculation that Ballack could be a target of new Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, who was Chelsea manager when Ballack came to Stamford Bridge.
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