Ballack eyes Bayern exit door
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-04 08:44

Germany captain Michael Ballack said on Sunday he would like to move from Bayern Munich to a foreign club one day although he is keeping his options open on a contract extension when it expires next year.

'There are hardly any (German) players who were abroad that have advised me against taking such a step,' Ballack, 28, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

'It's good for a person's overall development. It would also be very interesting for me.'

Spanish clubs, especially Barcelona, have pursued the midfielder in the past.

Bayern Munich have said Ballack must make up his mind on a contract extension soon. However, Ballack said he was in no rush and asked if he wanted to have his future sorted out before next year's World Cup in Germany, he replied: 'I'm not sure yet.'

Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann spent much of his career abroad at Inter Milan, Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur. As coach, Klinsmann has also promoted Germans Robert Huth and Thomas Hitzlsperger, whose careers have been built in England.

'I'm really relaxed about it all,' Ballack said. 'The hardest decisions in my career are all behind me, when I was 18 and had to decide whether to stay in the regional league or turn professional.

'Then I had to decide the right time to leave Kaiserslautern for Bayer Leverkusen. Later, the same was the case for the transfer to Bayern Munich. I've always made the right decisions so far. I'm now playing at a top European club and still have the chance to play abroad.'