Former Chelsea and Germany midfielder Michael Ballack has spoken publicly for the first time about the death of his 18-year-old son, Emilio, who died in a quad bike accident near the family's holiday home in Portugal in 2021.
In an emotional interview with Sky Germany titled 'My Story', Ballack struggled to find words when asked about the impact of the loss. After a long pause, he simply said: 'Difficult.' He then repeated the word, visibly distraught.
'You can't imagine it. You can't even describe it in words,' Ballack said. 'It's a process of repression. Everyone deals with it differently. I can hardly talk about him at all. I'd like to say much more, but it overwhelms me emotionally.'
Ballack, who also has sons Louis and Jordi, spoke about the responsibility of parenthood and the heightened fears that come with such a loss. 'Of course, you love your children more than anything and want to give them as much stability, warmth, and security in life as possible,' he said. 'Such a loss naturally intensifies that even more. You then have greater fears. What else could happen?'
Reflecting on how his perspective has changed, Ballack added: 'Life is precious. That the life we lead is absolutely privileged. That luck and misfortune also play a major role. Fate. You can call it what you want, but things just happen.' He said facing the tragedy gives him strength, along with the realisation that 'life goes on.'
