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“I would like a lot more, but it emotionalizes me too much” Michael Ballack speaks tearfully for the first time about his son's death
Sky presenter Riccardo Basile meets Michael Ballack this time in “My Story – the Life of …” and it gets very emotional.
Instagram/riccardobasile
“You can’t imagine.”
It's the worst day in Michael Ballacks Life. His 18-year-old son Emilio had an accident with a quad bike in 2021 and lost his life in the tragic accident. His father kept the pain and the enormous sadness out of the public eye for a long time – now he is giving an insight into his inner life for the first time in an emotional interview.
Michael Ballack on the death of his son Emilio
“Difficult,” Ballack replies, breathing deeply, when asked how he deals with the loss of his son. When recording the format “My Story” (Friday evening, 11:15 p.m. on Sky or on the Sky Sport YouTube channel) with presenter Riccardo Basile, which is available to RTL, the football legend suddenly struggles with his feelings. His grief after Emilio's death “cannot be imagined” or “described in words,” explains Ballack.
“It's a repression process. Everyone deals with it differently. I can't talk about him much or at all. I'd like to do a lot more, but it emotionalizes me too much.” The 47-year-old's voice falters; these words bring tears to his eyes. DFB legend Ballack closer than ever! He tries to motivate himself “through everyday life,” through “work, the family, the other sons – to cope with it.” The empathetic Sky presenter Basile also seems more than touched.
Reading tip: Simone Ballack's marriage fell apart after Emilio's death
Emilio was the son of Michael Ballack and his ex-wife Simone.
Ballack wants to “be there as best as possible” for his children Louis and Jordi, but things are “just not the same anymore,” he explains in an interview with Riccardo. “Of course you love your children more than anything and want to give them as much stability and warmth and security in life. That is the responsibility you have as a parent.”
“Of course, such a loss intensifies it even more. Of course, you then have greater fears. What else can happen?”
Video tip: Simone Ballack remembers her deceased son
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Michael Ballack has two more children with his ex-wife Simone
The loss has profoundly changed his perspective on many things, says the football expert. “That life is precious. That the life we lead is absolutely privileged. That luck and bad luck also play a big role. Fate.” Tears well up in his eyes again.
He wants to “face it up, of course. That gives me strength again, this task and at the same time that it continues.”Ballack takes a deep look in “My Story”.
Reading tip: Simone Ballack talks about Emilio (†18) in the jungle camp
Emilio had an accident on a quad bike on the Ballack family estate in Portugal at the beginning of August 2021. The 18-year-old had just graduated from high school. He was the middle son from his marriage Simone Ballack. The two were married from 2008 to 2012. The relationship also produced sons Louis (2001) and Jordi (2005).
Sources used: Sky, own RTL research
