Leverkusen confirm Ballack departure

Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed that Michael Ballack will part company with the club in the summer.

The 35-year-old midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and Leverkusen CEO Wolfgang Holzhauser has now admitted that there was never any chance of the player agreeing an extension with the club.

“When we signed Ballack in 2010, it was clear that we would go our separate ways after two years,” he said.

Even though the departure of the former Germany international has now been confirmed, Holzhauser is confident that Ballack will continue to give his all until the end of the season.

“I hope he repeats his strong performances from the first half (of the season),” he said.

Holzhauser also revealed that the club will not be searching for any high-profile replacements for Ballack.

“Following the transfers of (Bernd) Leno and (Philipp) Wollscheid, which cost 13-15 million euros, our budget is nearly depleted,” he revealed. “The small squad is perhaps a risk, but it is a fine squad.”

Ballack moved to Leverkusen from Kaiserslautern in 1999 and rejoined the club in the summer of 2010 after spells with Bayern Munich and Chelsea.