London - Germany captain Michael Ballack has signed a contract extension keeping him at Chelsea for another season, the club said Tuesday. "Michael has been a key member of our team for three years so we are naturally very happy that we have agreed the extension," the club said in a statement on its website.
Ballack, 32, who moved to the Premier League from Bayern Munich after the 2006 World Cup, would have been a free agent this summer.
He had made it clear after Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Everton he wanted to stay on at Chelsea.
"I am very happy to be staying at Chelsea for one more year as it was always my intention to play in London until World Cup 2010," he said in statement on the website.
"We are all looking forward to taking this season's success into the new season under Carlo Ancelotti."
Italian Ancelotti will be the fifth manager Ballack has played under at the club following Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and interim coach Guus Hiddink.
