Former Chelsea and Germany star Michael Ballack has spoken for the first time about the death of his 18-year-old son.
Ballack, 49, had an illustrious career that spanned more than 15 years, playing for clubs such as Chemnitzer, Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
The former midfielder won four Bundesliga titles and a Premier League title, among many other trophies.
Off the field, Ballack had three children with his ex-wife, Simone Lambe: Louis, Emilio and Jordi.
However, in August 2021, Ballack's life changed tragically after his son Emilio Ballack passed away at the age of just 18.
Emilio died after a quad (four-wheeled vehicle) overturned and crushed him after a family barbecue in Portugal.
According to the Daily Mail, local police stated that Emilio was driving the quad on uneven terrain.
After firefighters pulled him from the rubble, medical personnel attempted to revive him, but he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Recently, in a "My Story" interview for Sky, Ballack was asked how he coped with the loss of his son.
He said: “It’s hard. Very hard. You can’t imagine it. You can’t even describe it in words. It’s a process of repressing feelings. Everyone copes with it differently. I can barely talk about it. I would like to say so much more, but it overwhelms me emotionally.”
At this point Ballack became visibly emotional and continued: "So it's a process of denial, where you try to cope with it through everyday life, through the many things that motivate you - work, family, other boys."
"Of course you love your children more than anything and you want to give them as much stability, warmth and security in life as possible. That is your responsibility as a parent," he added.
"A loss like this emphasizes this even more. Of course, afterwards you have bigger fears. What else can happen? Life is precious. The life we live is a great privilege. Luck and misfortune play a big role. You can call it luck, you can call it something else, but things just happen. However, I want to cope. This gives me strength and reminds me that life goes on," he concluded./Express newspaper/
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