The German footballer, Michael Ballack, has opened up for the first time since losing his son Emilio, who was 18 years old when he died after an accident on his quad bike.
The former Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich player, 49, shared the heartbreaking details of the incident, which occurred in 2021, on his new documentary My Story: The Life of Michael Ballack.
The ordeal occurred at the Tróia Peninsula Resort in Portugal, where the family were on holiday. According to the police report, the quad bike was travelling on rough terrain when it overturned and fell on top of him. Emergency services tried to save him, but unfortunately, they were unable to do anything.
"How do you learn to live with a loss like that?" presenter Riccardo Basile asked, to which Michael replied: "Ugh. Difficult. Difficult. It's difficult because anyone who goes through something like that can't imagine it. Can't imagine it," the athlete confessed, unable to hold back his tears.
"It can't be described in words either. It's a process of repression," Michael continued, adding, "everyone deals with it differently. Personally, I can say very little about it... I'd like to say much more, but it emotionally devastates me."
Michael said: "You try to overcome it day by day, through many things that motivate you: work, family, your other children, to try to keep going. And that's what I've done until now. I've done the best I could. But I think we've made it. Not only me, but everyone close to the family and the family itself. And for that I give thanks," he said, obviously overcome with emotion.
© DDP/AFP via Getty ImagesMoving forward
Sadly, the footballer also admitted that the loss of his son has intensified his concern for his family's well-being. "Of course, you love your children above all else and want to give them stability and security in life. That's the responsibility we, as parents, must assume. A blow like this naturally intensifies those feelings. Of course, now you have greater fears. What else can happen?" he said.
Michael said how the grief he has experienced has changed his perspective on life. He adds: "That life is precious. That the life we have is absolutely privileged. That luck and misfortune also play a big role. It's destiny."
© Getty Images for amfARMichael Ballack was married to Simone Lambe, whom he wed in 2008, and with whom he had three sons: Louis, born in 2001, Emilio, born in 2002, and Jordi, born in 2005. However, the couple divorced in 2012. The athlete also had a relationship with journalist Natacha Tannous between 2015 and 2019, and since 2021, he has been happily with Sophia Schneiderhan, a model and influencer, who is 24 years his junior, and has been by his side during his most difficult time.
Their romance sparked a huge controversy in Germany after becoming public, as some media outlets speculated that Sophia had had a relationship with his son, Emilio.
The footballer quickly denied this, sharing a statement on his social media: "Recent media reports compel me to make the following clarification: My partner, Sophia, is not my late son's ex-girlfriend, nor was she a friend of his. We will take legal action against these falsehoods and request that our privacy be respected ."
