Michael Ballack is getting closer to departing Bayer Leverkusen after his agent commented that the club is making him a scapegoat.
The former Bayern Munich and Chelsea midfielder has recently been heavily linked with a shift to MLS expansion franchise Montreal Impact and that proposed move is a stronger chance of occurring as he is at loggerheads with Leverkusen chiefs.
His agent, Michael Becker, believes the 35-year old former Germany captain has been made a scapegoat by club CEO Wolfgang Holzhauser recently, indicating that he could depart when his contract expires in three months.
"And then the coach and team were booed despite the 3-2 win over Mainz [last weekend].
"Since it obviously is not possible to part ways with (manager) Robin Dutt, they had to find another scapegoat, and they have found one in Michael.
"[But Holzhauser's] statements are factually incorrect. With Ballack last season, Leverkusen were surprise runners-up.
"This season, Bayer have, thanks to Michael's good performances, reached the last 16 of the Champions League.
"It's reached the point where we need to acknowledge all that our considerations we had 20 months ago have not worked out. He still has three months (left on his) contract which we will handle professionally.""In the [mid-season] training camp, everyone praised Michael for his performance in the first round [of the championship]," he told Express.
