Ballack signs with Bayer Leverkusen

German star Michael Ballack signed a two-year contract to return to his old Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.

Ballack chose the ?12 million ($14.7 million) deal with Leverkusen over another offer by rival Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg, which was reported to have offered more money.

"My return to Bayer 04 completes the circle," Ballack said. "I had a nice and successful time here which I fondly remember. That helped me decide on Bayer."

Ballack, 33, was released by Chelsea this month. He is the captain of Germany, but was ruled out of the World Cup after injuring his right ankle in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Portsmouth in the FA Cup final.

Ballack won three German league and cup doubles with Bayern Munich before taking up the English Premier League challenge in 2006.

He helped Chelsea win the league and cup double this past season.

This month, Ballack's agent, Michael Becker, told German broadcaster RTL that the player was "completely surprised" by Chelsea's decision to release him.

Becker said Ballack would have been willing to take a pay cut to stay at Chelsea and would have accepted a one-year deal with an option for a second.

Ballack played for Bayer Leverkusen from 1999 to 2002, then switched to Bayern Munich.

In a statement on Bayer Leverkusen's website, club manager Wolfgang Holzhaeuser was quoted as saying that "Michael has strong leadership qualifications, we expect a lot from him on a national and international level."

Sports director Rudi Voeller said that Ballack would give the team a boost.

"We did everything to convince Michael. The fact that he chose Bayer 04 over the competition despite our limited financial possibilities, shows his close emotional connection with the club."