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More money than sense? Even Michael Ballack was shocked by the size of his proposed wage packet
Chelsea have won the race to sign Michael Ballack - and they will make him the highest-paid footballer in the world when he joins this summer.
Sportsmail can reveal that the Germany captain has agreed a four-year deal with the Premiership champions and he will be rewarded with a staggering weekly salary of £121,000.
Ballack is out of contract at Bayern Munich at the end of this season and has received lucrative offers from Manchester United, Real Madrid and Inter Milan to sign as a free agent.
It is understood Ballack visited London on two separate occasions in January, during which time he and his agent, Michael Becker, met Stamford Bridge officials as well as the coach.
Under the terms of the Bosman ruling, Ballack has been free to talk to any interested clubs from the beginning of January without penalty.
Mourinho also travelled to Germany when the player's signature was clinched.
Ballack is desperate to win the Champions League, having narrowly missed out with Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 when they lost to Real Madrid, and the Chelsea boss has convinced him he can achieve that ambition at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have agreed to delay the announcement of the signing as long as possible for fear that they could yet meet Bayern Munich in the Champions League and thus place Ballack in a difficult position.
The teams met last season when Chelsea eliminated Bayern in the quarter-finals. Mourinho is understood to have nominated Ballack as a potential recruit at the time when chief executive Peter Kenyon was proposing the club should sign David Beckham, as revealed by Sportsmail last Saturday.
Ballack's salary is likely to cause some unrest among the squad
A case was made that the German, who is younger than the 30-year-old England captain, would also cost less overall since he is out of contract and also carries a degree of global marketability.
Like Beckham and Frank Lampard, Ballack is one of adidas's most high profile players and features prominently in their worldwide advertising campaigns.
It is hardly a coincidence that Chelsea will switch their kit supplier over from Umbro to adidas next season, when a new £100million, eight-year sponsorship deal begins. Mourinho does not intend to sell any of his midfielders to accommodate Ballack and will rotate them more frequently.
Ballack's salary, however, is likely to cause some unrest among the squad where players such as John Terry, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Lampard, who have made huge contributions to the club's success, may seek improved contracts now the wage threshold has been raised.
