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FOOTBALL

Ballack ends a career ‘beyond his dreams’

Former Germany captain Michael Ballack has retired from active sport, his lawyer announced on Tuesday afternoon, ending a career which saw him play football for his country 98 times.

Ballack ends a career 'beyond his dreams'
Photo: DPA

The 36-year-old former Chelsea star has been without a team since a two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen ended in May.

Since then he was reported to be negotiating with clubs in north America’s MSL and Australia’s A-League, but nothing came of the talks.

He released a statement which read, “At 36 I look back at a long and wonderful time in professional football, a time I would never have dared to dream of as a child. It was a privilege to work with first-class trainers and fantastic players. I will certainly miss playing in front of 80,000 fans, and shooting goals.

“But the last few months without active football have shown me that the time has arrived to stop. I am happy about a new chapter in my life and thank my family and all the fabulous people who have supported, challenged, accompanied and helped me. They all have a share in my success.”

He made the last of his 98 appearances for Germany when he captained the team during their friendly defeat against Argentina in March 2010. He had first played for Germany in April 1999 against Scotland.

Before that he was with the team that came second in the World Cup in 2002, second in the European Championship in 2008 and third in the World Cup in 2006.

He played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen – and was on German champion teams four times, German cup winners three times and once English champions. He won the FA Cup three times with Chelsea.

DPA/The Local/hc

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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