Could Ballack be leaving Leverkusen?

Former Germany captain Michael Ballack is part of a lot of speculation in Germany at the moment. The 34 year old has only played in one of the four Bundesliga matches for Bayer 04 Leverkusen this season so far as new coach Robin Dutt has been favouring other midfielders ahead of the ageing star.



Ballack remains ambitious and still wants to prove a point that his time isn't over just yet, but things haven't been going well for him in the last 15 months. It all started with the foul from Kevin-Prince Boateng in the FA Cup in May 2010, Ballack missed the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a young Germany played a great tournament. His contract was not extended by Chelsea and Ballack returned to Bayer 04 Leverkusen where he was seen as the potential new leader of a young team, but injuries forced him to miss many matches, while he was unable to regain his place in the German national team.



In the new season he wanted to show what he is still capable of but coach Robin Dutt is favouring other, younger players in the Leverkusen squad. This has led to speculation that Ballack could be leaving the west German club with VfL Wolfsburg a potential target.



Initially Leverkusen officials stated that Ballack was not for sale as the club would surely need him with Bundesliga and Champions League assignments coming up, but in the meantime they say they would be willing to speak to Ballack, if an offer comes in which so has not happened.



It will be interesting to see if Ballack stays in Leverkusen over the coming three days or moves on somewhere else, where he would get playing time.