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Michael Ballack has fired his lawyer after he pleaded not guilty and also claimed the former Germany captain could not afford to pay a speeding fine because of unemployment.

Michael Ballack has fired his lawyer after he claimed the former Germany captain couldn't pay a speeding fine (GettyImages)

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Ballack, 36, released his Spanish lawyer, Jesús Gallego Rol, from his duties on Thursday after coming under pressure following the not guilty plea and claimed the lawyer had only been officially assigned on the morning before the first hearing.

The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich midfielder, who retired from professional football in early October, was caught by a speed camera driving his Audi Q7 at 211kph (131mph) on a Spanish motorway, where 120kph (75mph) was the limit, near the resort town of Trujillo on October 17.

Rol had argued that speeding was not an offence in Germany and that Ballack would not be able to pay the speeding fine. He was quoted by Marca as saying: "Just because he is a famous footballer doesn't mean he has any money coming in."

But in a press statement, Ballack countered this, "My Spanish lawyer [...] had no order to argue unreasonably, like he apparently did.

"Therefore, I have released him from his mandate. It's understood I respect the Spanish law, the Spanish court and the verdict."