"He (Ballack) has temperament, charisma and class," Moratti told Italian paper Gazzetta Dello Sport on Sunday.

"I hope that Veron will reconsider his decision and stay with us. On a tactical level we have David Pizarro as his replacement, but we need a leader and I cannot help but point out Ballack in that category."

Argentina centre Veron has announced earlier this season that this campaign is his last in the San Siro and said he will move back to his homeland in the off-season.

Ballack will be a free agent in the summer and he has been already linked with Real Madrid and Manchester United, both targetting the Bayern Munich playmaker to help them reconstruct winning teams.

But Moratti said he doesn't fear competition, insisting that there is a chance as long as Ballack didn't agree on any new deal.

"Many clubs are following him and we are among them. It would be an important investment worth £3m per season, but you pay for that kind of quality," he said.

"People keep telling me that he is very different from Veron, but apart from their positions on the pitch, Ballack is in the same class. They are both absolute world class players."

Ballack played a major role in Bayern's last season victorious campaign as they won the domestic double and reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

He has been the Bundesliga's most significant golden boy in the past dew years, scooping best German player award three times in 2002, 2003 and 2005.