Michael Ballack would have been perfect in Manchester United’s midfield following the departure of Roy Keane. He wasn’t interested though, the general belief being that United were in decline, and he has since failed to win the Premiership or Champions League with Chelsea, whilst United have won both of these since Ballack joined the rentboys.

He has today however won a bit of favour with United fans, claiming that Liverpool won’t stand a chance of the title because of Rafa Benitez’s draw to the European Cup.

Despite currently being eight points behind leaders Chelsea and Liverpool, our much tougher fixtures have played a part in that. Ballack reckons Liverpool will fade away, as they usually do, and that it will come down to United and Chelsea again.

“It’s always the big four that everyone speaks about, but I think it’s still about Chelsea and Man United,” Ballack said. “Arsenal are already behind which makes it very difficult for them. Liverpool are very good at this moment but for me they are always a club for the Champions League, partly because they can put all their focus on one or two matches. But when you look at results and squads over the past couple of seasons as a whole, I think us and Man U are just a little bit stronger.”