As Chelsea come to terms with the sanctions imposed on
their transfer dealings by FIFA following the contentious manner in
which they signed promising teenage starlet Gael Kakuta, midfielder
Michael Ballack has issued an ominous declaration that he could be
tempted to hang up his playing boots when Germany's participation
in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa reaches its
conclusion.
The west London outfit were deemed to be guilty of luring Kakuta to
Stamford Bridge by persuading the burgeoning French talent to break
his contract. Consequently, once the summer window had already
closed, FIFA declared the club would not be able to become active
in the market until January 2011: a two-window ban on recruitments
has been imposed.
Given the club's strong squad, it was cited that a January ban may
not severely harm the side's chances of success this season,
however, the summer ban has the potential to cause havoc and this
trepidation will have accelerated with the news that Ballack, 33
this month, is contemplating retirement.
The Daily Mail quote
the German international as saying, "I will decide after the 2010
World Cup if I will continue playing or if I will stop. I will
continue as long as I enjoy it and still have ambitions in the
sport."
Ballack recently penned a new contract as his previous deal was to
expire this summer, yet the one-year extension that sees him fetch
£120,000 per week will run-out at the end of the season.
<!--h3>Alan Dawson</h3-->
