Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack has opened up about his desire to play in La Liga during his playing days, explaining just how he close he came to joining Barcelona in 2004 and how Real Madrid made an offer two years earlier.
The German spoke to Marca's Euan McTear and was asked why he never made the move to Spain. He said:
"No regrets, but of course Real Madrid or La Liga was always something I was considering in terms of playing there because I liked the way they play football in the Spanish league at that time.