Michael Ballack is not ready to give his captaincy to Lahm yet. Lahm, who was made captain at the tournament in South Africa due to Ballack’s injury-related absence, had said last week that he would not voluntarily hand back the armband.

But Michael Ballack dismissed this idea at his formal presentation as Bayer Leverkusen player.

“This is no issue for me. I am the captain,” said Ballack. “A player can’t request on what position he wants to play — and it is the same with the captaincy. One should respect this, there are hierarchies.” Ballack added that Lahm’s comments were “untimely.”

He said “the situation is clear. I was injured, but I am still captain,” and added he will talk with Lahm when they meet again at the national team. “It is not really serious, but we will touch the subject and then look ahead,” he said.

Ballack will be hoping for success in Europe as his new team is one of the best europa league bets.