Michael Ballack admitted he regrets leaving Chelsea to return to Bayer Leverkusen, and wishes he’d found a way to stay at Stamford Bridge longer.
The retired Germany international won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup during a four-year spell in west London, while he also reached the Champions League final.
With his contract coming to an end, Ballack and Chelsea were unable to agree on terms – despite Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti being keen to keep him – and he returned to former club Bayer Leverkusen.
But Ballack, who also played for Bayern Munich, confessed he wanted to stay longer in the Premier League and it’s a source of regret in his career that he left when he did.
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‘Carlo wanted me [to stay] but the club made a decision to only give players of that age a one-year contract. I wanted two,’ Ballack told Sky Sports.
‘At 33 it’s better to have two years so you can plan better.
‘Today, I can say maybe it was wrong. I should have stayed, even for that one year, to accept that and see how things go from there.
‘It wasn’t really a plan, I could never imagine that I would go back to Leverkusen. Until the last day, I actually thought we would find a way at Chelsea.
‘It was kind of poker, you know. I was really hoping I could stay at Chelsea until the end.’
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