Ballack denies pushing Scolari out

Scolari was sacked last week after just seven months at the club.

Reports have suggested that Ballack along with Petr Cech and Didier Drogba persuaded Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to axe Scolari.

“I couldn’t believe this,” Ballack said. “I was surprised when I heard about it in Germany as I always had a lot of good words about Scolari.

“This is not true. Meetings are normal in a club. If people speak with each other, even if you don’t have the success you want, it has happened before. It’s not just this week. It happened with other coaches.

“It’s normal Abramovich comes in the dressing-room and speaks with players. It’s not easy, not nice to sack somebody. This was in the papers, but is definitely not true.

“There is no backing or basis for this. I had a good relationship with every coach. I never said this.

“It’s speculation which appears in newspapers. I was disappointed as I couldn’t react because I was away.

“In recent months I’ve spoken good things about the coach, but if you don’t get the results, a lot of people speak.”