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It is a testimony that grips the heart and brutally reminds us that the heights of professional football offer no protection against human tragedies. Emmanuel Ebou\u00e9, the tireless former Arsenal full-back and darling of the Emirates Stadium, spoke at length this Friday in the podcast The Fifth House<\/em>. The observation is terrible: the Ivorian lost everything along the way.<\/p>\n The divorce from his ex-wife not only broke up his home, it destroyed the fruit of an entire career. The one who started in the 2006 Champions League final against Bar\u00e7a saw his savings and his assets evaporate.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost everything. Because of this divorce, I lost a lot. I don’t want to say how much but it was a lot. I lost everything in England because that’s where I did everything. I had three houses, a lot of cars… and I lost everything,\u201d he revealed with disarming sincerity.<\/p>\n But beyond the material, it is the absence of his three children which consumes the former defender. Emmanuel Ebou\u00e9 lives today in total emotional isolation. He claims to have no recent photos of them and is refused any photos by their mother.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss them. Every day, I pray for them, so that one day I can see them again,\u201d he confides.<\/p>\n The pain is all the more acute as his son, Mathis, follows in his footsteps. At 17, the young man has just signed with Chelsea, a proud moment to which his father was not invited: \u201cI haven’t had contact with him for almost five years. His mother didn’t call me about his signing at Chelsea. I am very sad. \u00bb<\/p>\n This is not the first time that Ebou\u00e9 has spoken of his distress. In the past, he had already admitted to having had suicidal thoughts. Today, the former Ivory Coast international continues to give himself up, unvarnished, like a man on the ground who is desperately looking for a bridge to reconnect with his blood.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost everything in England\u201d<\/h2>\n
The immense void left by his children<\/h2>\n
Also read:<\/h3>\n