Espanyol eye Ballack coup
Espanyol presidential candidate Jose Manuel Lara will look to sign Michael Ballack.
Espanyol presidential candidate Jose Manuel Lara claims he will pursue a deal for Bayern Munich star Michael Ballack if successful.As seems to be common place in Spain ahead of such elections, Lara has made the bold statement with a view to seducing club members who will cast the votes.
Lara, who is the leading share-holder at the Catalan club, is vying with present incumbent Daniel Sanchez Llibre and former vice president Claudio Biern for the role of president.
Biern recently stated he would try to bring Javier Saviola and Fernando Morientes to the club if he was emerged triumphant and Lara has now made an even more audacious boast by claiming he could bring Ballack to Estadio Olimpico de Montjuic.
The Bayern star is out of contract in the summer and has been widely tipped to join Real Madrid, but Lara is adamant Espanyol could beat their Primera rivals to the punch.
"Ballack is an attainable player and I personally like him a lot," stated Lara.
"His contract finishes on June 30 and that makes everything easier.
"What's more, I think we could finance this transfer with sponsors."
