…but is he coming?
Franz Beckenbauer has warned him that a move to United would not be a step up, and to expect some grief from Bayern’s fans until he moves on. "I know Manchester United and AC Milan are in the hunt, but Michael will only improve himself by going to Madrid. Anywhere else and it will not be a step up. Much as I want him to stay, I feel he will probably leave. If he does, the decision will only make sense if he goes to Real Madrid.
"He must understand the people because they are very faithful fans who expect their heroes to say they want to play for their club. They don't like it when Michael refuses to commit himself. I'm not disappointed in Michael as a person. All the power is with the clubs. But you can sense the mood towards him is changing, and the fear now is that the fans may turn against him. I can't help wondering what will happen when we play our next game, but Michael has taken his stance and will have to accept the consequences."
Ballack himself is keeping his cards close to his chest, "Foreign clubs can speak to me as of January. It would be a dream for me to play abroad but I can just as easily see myself staying at Bayern."
Here’s what the papers think.
The Mirror:
‘Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to offer Michael Ballack the Manchester United captaincy to ensure he wins the race to sign the German midfielder. Fergie will pull out all the stops in a bid to beat Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan to the signing of the player he sees as the natural successor to skipper Roy Keane.
‘The fear at Old Trafford is that Real Madrid are ready to hijack United's bid, which is why Fergie is going all-out to ensure he gets his man.’
The Guardian:
‘Manchester United are trying to arrange for Michael Ballack to spend a day at Old Trafford as part of their charm offensive to sign him from Bayern Munich. The club have already put together a financial package that would make him the Premiership's highest-paid player, with an annual salary of £6m, and Sir Alex Ferguson's next move will be to inform the 29-year-old Germany international that he wants him to succeed Roy Keane as captain.
‘Ballack is free to speak to other clubs from January 1 but United used intermediaries to register their interest six months ago and they are so confident of finalising the free transfer for next summer that one club official declared recently that it was "almost a done deal". Real Madrid might have something to say about that and the greatest worry for United now is that they could be gazumped by the Spanish club.’
The Sun:
‘Alex Ferguson has cancelled a major appointment in Rome as he bids to land Michael Ballack. The Manchester United boss was due to address the Italian Olympic Committee today at a football forum.’