Real door is open to Ballack, says Schuster

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster insisted on Thursday German captain Michael Ballack could still transfer from Chelsea to the Spanish giants, providing he drops his wage demands.

The 30-year-old is out of favour at Chelsea and was not included for the English side's Champions League squad for the group stages and has been linked to a move to Spain.

But the German midfielder will have to reduce his wage demands first, according to Schuster.

"The door of Real is not closed for Michael, his footballing qualities are always there, they will still exist in six months, but it is essentially a question of money," Schuster told German sports magazine Kicker.

Schuster revealed negotiations have taken place this summer between Real, Chelsea and Ballack's agent, but the issue had stumbled over the question of wages.

With the transfer windon now closed, re-negotiations look set to continue in January when the next window opens, implied the German coach.

"He has an extraordinary contract at Chelsea, such a deal would have exploded our budget. No player at Real is paid like him and we do not want to set a precedent," Schuster explained.

Schuster has been at Real since July and recognised during the summer that the team needed an aggressive midfielder - "a player like Ballack".

After four seasons with Bayern Munich, Ballack joined Chelsea in June 2006, but his first season was curtailed by an ankle injury.

Ballack has not played since April and with Chelsea ruling him out of their European squad, speculation has been rife of his Stamford Bridge departure.