Just read that he has retired from professional football..

Can see him as a future coach, not sure in the EPL but you never know.

took me some time to warm to him but in the end I thought he was an underrated player for us, and will never forget his reaction in THAT match .... I shat myself in the stand, I actually thought he was going to kill the b*stard

All the best Michael

Yes, we'll all have very fond memories of him.

Unlike Shevchenko who retired just before he joined Chelsea

Ballack had a great career but was a bit of a nearly man in terms of honours and crushing disappointments, with his clubs and the German national side. I think his reaction to the Ovrebo scandal is partly explained by his anger and frustration at being cheated by a ref after so many near-misses had gone before.

As for his time with us, I don't think we ever saw him at his best, but he was still a big player for us on occasions. I always thought he came across as a really good bloke who loved it at Chelsea. He probably never shone for us as he did for his other clubs because he was surrounded by so many players who were at their peak when he was here.

Edited October 2, 201213 yr by Backbiter

Michael Ballack was always one of my favorites, and I think he will do great as a color commentator wherever he chooses to do that.

One of the greatest players not to win a Champions League medal, at his best he was one of best.

At Chelsea i thought he was past his best but he did an ok job and was part of a team that won us the double and scored over 100 premier league goals .

Edited October 2, 201213 yr by Scott Harris

Fantastic player, and absolute beast of a footballer. I still think we ballsed up not keeping him for another season.

Great leader for the teams he played for, chelsea included. He was one of the true German midfielders. Schweinsteiger has taken over, before him was Effenberg. Great positioning, leadership skills, thunderous shot and control of the midfield. Good luck Michael!

Sorry to hear that Michael Ballack has decided to retire and hang up his boots. I felt that he was under-appreciated/under-rated during his time here but in my mind he has always been a class player, strong on the ball, had great physical presence, scored crucial goals (remember the Man U home game) and could also put a penalty away!

I would like to wish him well for the future.

A midfield trio of Essien, Lampard and Ballack all on form was to die for.

Good luck in the future Michael!

He should join our coaching team. Though I imagine he might go back to Bayern since he spent a lot of his career there.

Can't think of many players with a better technique than Ballack. Sublime player. Thrilled that he played for us.

Ballack absolute quality player in his day, was superb in that defensive midfield role in his final season for us too. Best of luck whatever he decides to do now.

One of the greatest players not to win a Champions League medal, at his best he was one of best.

At Chelsea i thought he was past his best but he did an ok job and was part of a team that won us the double and scored over 100 premier league goals .

Are you sure on the 100 league goals ? He scored some important ones.... And always went mental when he scored which was great

Are you sure on the 100 league goals ? He scored some important ones.... And always went mental when he scored which was great

I have no idea where he got that from. Wikipedia isn't the most reilable but they say he had 17 PL goals over his Chelsea career. Unless he's talking about our whole team's goals or his at Bayern.

Dude was a dude.

I loved Ballack as a player! I'm bitterly disappointed to hear he has decided to hang up his boots, class player and loved when he was here! Best of luck Michael!!

I always liked him here, had a definate 'steely determination' about him.

Alan

Wish we had him earlier, what a man

Are you sure on the 100 league goals ? He scored some important ones.... And always went mental when he scored which was great

Obviously Ballack didn't score 100 league goals. The team did, 103 in 09-10. Scott said he was part of the team that won the double and scored 100 goals.

Top player, am delighted that we got to see him play for us. I remember that 2-1 against Man Utd during Avram Grant's stewardship which stuck us right back in the title race in which he was absolutely terrific. Sorry to see him go, we could do with a player of his class and power in our midfield right now.

Thank you Michael!

Good luck to Ballack,I know the moment we signed him...I was so frustrated ,because at that time he was my most hated player in the world

His first half season at Chelsea I couldn't accept him,it really was difficult to adapt my brain to it...But after his first season I think I was at the point I could tell good things about him.

Just before he leaves I know it was in my top 3 players at Chelsea,he was in my soul..I know the perfect performances against Man u..And what a strong ,smart player he was...

Edited October 2, 201213 yr by Belgian_SW6_Lover

Took me a while to warm to him because, early on, I felt that he never played at the same level for us that he did at Bayern where he literally ran the entire team. Nevertheless, he adapted really well to a different role with us, and he put in some great performances in some of the big games. For example, in the double winning season, both Essien and Mikel were injured in the run in so Ballack played as the defensive midfielder and so seamlessly.

All in all I'll remember him fondly. I loved the passion he showed whenever he scored. Also, the few times he took a penalty for us you just knew he was going to score. Luckily, I even had the chance to meet him briefly and pose for a photo! Would love him to come back to us as a coach, though that seems unlikely.

Edited October 2, 201213 yr by Celery1989