FormerChelsea and Germany midfielder Michael Ballack has given a deeply emotional account of the impact of his son's death. Emilio, aged 18, tragically lost his life in a quad bike accident near the family's holiday home in Portugal in 2021.

The teenager was the middle child of Ballack's three sons, with older brother Louis one year his senior and younger sibling Jordi born three years after Emilio.

Speaking publicly about Emilio's passing for the first time, Ballack described the 'unimaginable' emotions he continues to experience. During an interview conducted in his native German with Sky, entitled 'My Story', he was questioned about the impact of losing his son.

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Visibly emotional, Ballack took a lengthy pause before simply responding: "Difficult." He then paused once more before repeating the same word.

A clearly emotional Ballack continued: "You can't imagine it. You can't even describe it in words.

"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.

"That's why it's a process of denial, where you try to cope through everyday life, through many things that motivate you – work, family, your other sons.

"Of course, you love your children more than anything and want to give them as much stability, warmth, and security in life as possible. That's the responsibility you bear as a parent.

"Such a loss naturally intensifies that even more. Of course, you then have greater fears. What else could happen?".

Later in the conversation, when asked about how his outlook on life has shifted, Ballack responded: "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.

"Despite all the talk of fate, I naturally want to face it. That gives me strength again, this task, and at the same time, the realisation that life goes on."