Michael Ballack and his attempt at joining the Wanderers appear to be nothing more than an agent looking for a payday.
With the innuendo regarding Michael Ballack, not to mention the media reports and negativity in the football community towards any possible 'deal breaker' with Ballack, I'd like to set the record straight. The general information has come from the Wanderers organisation.
No formal discussions took place with Michael Ballack from our understanding of the situation.
I believe all media reports have been leaked by Ballack's agent.
Upon hearing of Ballack's apparent desire to play for Western Sydney Wanderers FC the club management undertook a series of steps to research and examine both Ballack personally, his level of fitness as a player and how the move would benefit the Wanderers as a club. This due diligence research included:
He is 36 years of age as we all know.
He has injured his knee in the last handful of seasons.
He has ankle problems.
He fractured his shin recently.
In the past 3 years he has played a total of 33 League and 13 Cup or European games.
His last actual match was on May 4th.
He has apparently not been training since then.
He has apparently not hired the services of a personal trainer to keep match fitness.
He has had some alleged acrimonious departures from not just the German National team but also several clubs.
He has been concentrating on broadcast duties recently.
The final piece of information that must be known is the reported figure requested by his agent.
For a 6 month contract, the total fee the club would have been looking at was $2.2 million.
It is sobering to see our club being fiscally responsible and thorough in their research. It hold us in great stead for the future.
We have invested in young quality locals talent, experienced imports and a Japanese maestro.
What we all should be doing is celebrating the signing of Shinji Ono, which is confirmed. A player who not only younger than Ballack, however played only last weekend.