[3][4] Ballack began his career as a youth at enterprise sports community BSG Motor "Fritz Heckert" Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1983.

The 2001–02 season saw him win a slew of runners-up medals: Bayer Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Champions League and Germany lost to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup Final.

Ballack was then allowed to attend the elite Children and Youth Sports School (KSJ) "Emil Wallner" in Karl-Marx-Stadt.

[6] In the following season, Ballack became both a regular member of the team (he made 30 appearances, scoring 4 goals in the league) and one of the side's leading players.

Ballack finished with 17 league goals and his performance over the season led to him being voted into the UEFA.com users' Team of 2002 as well as being named German Footballer of the Year.

In spite of Real Madrid's interest, Ballack decided to sign with Bayern Munich in a €6 million deal in 2002 after his impressive performances in the World Cup.

[18] During his last season with Bayern, there were rumours of interest from Manchester United, Real Madrid, Internazionale and Milan,[19] but Ballack instead chose to go to Stamford Bridge.

[24] He received the first straight red card of his career in Chelsea's 1–0 win over Liverpool on 17 September 2006, after being judged to have stamped on Mohamed Sissoko's leg.

He scored eight goals in all competitions for the club in the 2006–07 season, including a free-kick against Everton at Goodison Park, as well as a half-volley against Porto which sent Chelsea through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

[26] On 29 April 2007, Chelsea released a statement on their official website, informing fans that Ballack had undergone ankle surgery in Munich.

[27] As a result, Ballack did not play in the FA Cup final against Manchester United, which Chelsea won 1–0 through Didier Drogba's extra time goal.

Chelsea left Ballack out of their Champions League squad for the 2007–08 group stage as they realised that his injury would prevent him from playing any useful part and preferred to select the fully fit Steve Sidwell.

The German international had an ankle operation in the summer and Chelsea could not take the risk of him not regaining full fitness before the end of the group stage.

In first-half stoppage time, he won a penalty after being brought down in the box by Zat Knight, which Andriy Shevchenko converted.

In the 88th minute, with the score tied at 3–3, Ballack stepped up to take a free-kick, which he buried into the bottom left corner of the goal, but the match ended in a 4–4 draw.

Ballack's return from injury has been a lift for Chelsea as he set up Deco to score a scissor kick in a 2–0 win against Bolton Wanderers.

[32] He also started as Chelsea were victorious against Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup final, however he would come off injured shortly before half-time after a tackle by Kevin-Prince Boateng.

[6][33] On 9 June 2010, it was announced that Ballack, along with teammates Joe Cole and Juliano Belletti, would leave Chelsea on a free transfer after his contract was not renewed.

On 6 October 2010, it was announced that Ballack would not play again in 2010 at the club or international level due to a shin injury sustained 11 September 2010 in a Bundesliga match against Hannover 96.

On 20 February 2011, Ballack made his return from injury, coming on as a substitute for Simon Rolfes against VfB Stuttgart; Leverkusen won the match 4–2.

Ballack scored his second Europa League goal against Metalist Kharkiv, a match Leverkusen won 2–0 and the two-legged tie 6–0 on aggregate to progress to the round of 16.

Participants in the match included former teammates and friends Lothar Matthäus, Didier Drogba, Miroslav Klose, Andriy Shevchenko, Phillip Lahm, Hasan Salihamidžić, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Essien, André Schürrle, Ricardo Carvalho, Dietmar Hamann, Florent Malouda, Carsten Jancker, Torsten Frings, Jens Lehmann, Christian Wörns, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Per Mertesacker, as well as Formula 1 racing driver Michael Schumacher.

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored in matches against the United States and South Korea during the knockout rounds as Germany reached the final.

However, he was booked for a tactical foul during the semi-final match against South Korea and was suspended for the final, which Germany went on to lose 2–0 to Brazil.

[43] Following Euro 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler at the helm of the national team and Ballack took over from Oliver Kahn as captain.

[44] In the 2006 World Cup, he was unable to start in Germany's first game against Costa Rica due to a calf strain, but appeared in the following five matches.

He was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador and Argentina,[45] and was included in FIFA's World Cup All Star Team for a second consecutive time.

[62] On a technical level, he was a commanding, physically strong and aggressive player, with excellent passing range, who moved the ball efficiently,[3] and who was capable of creating chances for his team.

[60][68] Ballack was also a strong tackler, which combined with his stamina, as well as his aerial, playmaking, and goalscoring abilities, made him a "complete midfielder," as he was once described by Ben Welch of FourFourTwo magazine in 2013.

[70] In 2011, Ballack's international coach at the time, Joachim Löw, praised him, describing him as a player who "exudes authority and calm on the pitch".