Inside football’s most explosive divorces…from star’s £10m payout to bitter split over twins fathered by another man
FOOTBALLERS’ love lives are notoriously messy – with numerous reports of playing away.
And that can lead to explosive and VERY costly divorces.
Kyle Walker‘s bitter split from his wife, Annie Kilner, is the latest case shaking the sport.
Annie finally filed for divorce earlier this year after their marriage was wracked by a series of scandals.
In 2020, she agreed to stay with Kyle, 34, after it was revealed he had fathered a child with Lauryn Goodman during a brief affair and she stood by him during a bitter court battle which saw the Manchester City ace ordered pay a substantial amount.
But, after it emerged that Kyle had fathered a second child with his on-off mistress, she is now preparing to battle it out in court for half of his staggering £27million fortune.
But Kyle is far from alone in seeing his marriage end in explosive claims and courtroom showdowns over the players’ eye-watering wealth.
‘Not fair’
Former Arsenal right-back Emmanuel Eboue, 41, had one of the most acrimonious divorces in football.
During his seven-year stint in the Premier League, he built an enviable fortune but lost it all in a bitter split with his ex-wife, Aurelie Bertrand, in 2017.
She was awarded all their assets in the divorce, including their two mansions and his fleet of luxury cars – and he later claimed he had to wash his clothes by hand as he couldn’t afford to use his washing machine.
In 2017, he told the Sunday Mirror: “I can’t afford the money to continue to have any lawyer or barrister. I am in the house but I am scared.
“Because I don’t know what time the police will come. Sometimes, I shut off the lights because I don’t want people to know that I am inside.
“I suffered to buy my house, but I am now scared. I am not going to sell my clothes or sell what I have. I will fight until the end because it is not fair.”
Emmanuel also claimed naivety was to blame for his losses, saying that he signed everything Aurelie asked him to without question.
He added: “I look back and say ’Emmanuel, you have been naive… why didn’t you think about that before?’ It is hard. Very, very hard.
“The money I earned, I sent it to my wife for our children.”
He claimed of the €8 million he earned playing with Galatasary in Turkey – between 2011 and 2015 – €7million was sent to his ex wife.
Paternity blow
Cameroonian footballer Geremi filed for divorce from his wife Laure in March after a bombshell that blew the marriage apart.
The former Chelsea star, 45, claimed he was “psychologically damaged” after finding out the 16-year-old twins he raised as his own were actually fathered by her ex.
In court documents seen in March, the midfielder claims that the children were born after she had a fling while they were still together.
It read: “No children have been born from this union” and also slammed her “repeated lies”. It also said that Laure had destroyed the harmony” of their marriage “through her abject behaviour”.
The twins were born in 2008 and Geremi revealed they were the motivation for the pair tying the knot four years later.
The court filing in March this year said that the revelation had “caused him a huge emotional shock”.
Love rat
Ryan Giggs’ wife Stacey filed for divorce in 2017, after ten years of marriage, over numerous infidelities, including an eight-year affair with his brother’s wife, Natasha.
He also cheated on Stacey with former beauty queen and Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.
As one of the highest-paid players, the former Manchester Utd star had amassed a £40million fortune and the bitter split looked set to end in an explosive courtroom battle over the cash.
But in November 2017, it was announced that they had reached an agreement and the figures were kept under wraps.
In a statement, their lawyers said: “The terms of the settlement are confidential, but both wished to express their sincere thanks to their respective legal teams.
“They are pleased to leave this chapter of their lives as firm friends.”
Mummy’s boy
Paris Saint-Germain player Achraf Hakimi‘s divorce from his wife, Hiba Abouk, had a shocking plot twist that very few saw coming.
Model and actress Hiba, who has two kids with the footballer, filed for divorce after he was accused of rape by French prosecutors in March 2023.
During the court battle Hiba reportedly asked for half of Hakimi’s £18.4million fortune.
But in a bizarre twist it was revealed that most of his assets were actually in his mother’s name and even his substantial salary, reportedly £170,000 a WEEK, was paid into his mother’s bank account.
Legally, Hakimi owned very little in his own name, leaving his furious ex with limited claim to his wealth.
The revelation led to speculation that Achraf had planned his financial arrangement in anticipation of the divorce.
Timeline of Kyle Walker and Annie Kilner's relationship
- Early years – Kyle and Annie first meet in Sheffield when she was 15 and he was 17
- Euro 2016 – Walker caught messaging Playboy model Carla Howe
- April 2019 – Annie dumps Kyle after his alleged romps with reality TV star Laura Brown
- April 2020 – Kyle allegedly hosts sex party with two escorts during covid-19 lockdown
- February 2020 – Lauryn Goodman gives birth to Kairo, her son with Walker
- November 2021 – Walker and Kilner marry in secret
- March 2023 – Lauryn announces her second pregnancy
- Spring 2023 – Kyle allegedly flashes and kisses another woman in a Vodka Revolution bar in Cheshire
- August 2023 – Lauryn gives birth to a daughter
- January 2024 – Annie announces split from Kyle after two years of marriage. It emerges Kyle is the dad of Lauryn’s second child. Kyle begs for forgiveness in exclusive Sun interview. Lauryn brands him a ‘pathological narcissist’
- October 2024 – Annie files for divorce
Messiest divorce
Francesco Totti and Ilary Blasi were branded Italy’s Posh and Becks after they married in 2005, on national TV, and went on to have three kids together.
But their 2022 split, after 17 years of marriage, was one of the most sensational in the country’s history and things quickly got messy.
It was revealed that Ilary had hired a private investigator after suspecting him of cheating.
But Francesco, 48, also accused Ilary of infidelity, claiming she was the first one to betray their marriage. The AS Roma icon said: “It is not true that I was the first to betray.
“I said I was not going to speak, and I did not, but I have read too many hoaxes in recent weeks. Some have even made my children suffer.”
The divorce battle escalated over financial assets, as Totti accused his ex of running off with his expensive watch collection.
In turn, he hid all her luxury handbags until she safely returned his belongings. In an interview, he said: “What was I supposed to do? I hid the bags, hoping for an exchange.”
They also fought over their lavish home in Rome and custody of their three children.
In November, Ilary claimed the Roma star left their eight-year-old home alone when he went away – an allegation he strongly refutes, saying she was being looked after by a ‘professional babysitter’.
“The police came knocking on Totti’s door and a woman, allegedly a babysitter, opened the door,” says Italian journalist Daniele Fisichella.
“It’s not clear whether it was actually a babysitter -Totti was away – or it was the concierge working at Totti’s residence.
“If anyone wants to write a TV series, ‘The Totti’s’, that obviously could be part of it. It’s been going on for the last two years, to be fair… it seems that the end, it’s very far away.”
The pair are still battling it out in court.
Bankrupt star
For years, David James was one of the most recognisable faces in English football.
The goalkeeper played for top clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester City, and West Ham. He is said to have been earning £50,000 a week while playing for Portsmouth.
He has four children with ex-wife Tanya, but the couple split in 2005 when he left her for his childhood sweetheart, Amanda Salmon, who wooed him by sending X-rated images of herself in a G-string.
Tanya late said she found out about the affair when she saw a text he received during her birthday meal which read: “I would love to have your warm body next to mine right now.”
The sender came up on his phone under the name Corgi Cars as David tried to hide her identity.
During their bitter divorce battle, Tanya claims the star went back on his word of paying their children’s school fees and only gave her a “paltry” amount to live on after he took care of the household bills.
But after paying Tanya £3million in the divorce settlement, the 51-year-old’s huge empire came crashing down and in 2014 he declared himself bankrupt, despite the £20million he had made from his time as a footballer.
He was forced to auction many of his valuables, including his football memorabilia.
In his 2004 biography, former Liverpool teammate, Stan Collymore wrote about David: “If he had a new car and he pranged it, he would just go and buy a new car – so there were five cars parked in the drive.
“If he bought a new pair of shoes and he scuffed them, he wouldn’t clean them. He would just chuck them in the spare room and buy a new pair.
“Too much disposable income, I suppose. Too easy just to bin stuff. Too easy to spend money like you’re going to be earning that kind of money for the rest of your life.”
Huge payout
In 2003, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, 47, married Claire Merry. The couple welcomed their daughter, Tea, in 2005.
However, after just four years of marriage, the French international announced he was leaving his wife, shortly before his transfer to Barcelona on a £130,000 a week contract.
Claire was said to have been devastated when Henry walked out on their marriage amid rumours he had formed a “close friendship” with a Spanish actress.
In court, Claire cited “unreasonable behaviour” as grounds for divorce. Thierry did not dispute the claim.
In September 2007, a judge granted the divorce in a one-minute hearing at the High Court’s Principal Registry.
Claire requested £10million and was reportedly awarded close to the figure, although Henry kept the £6million Hampstead mansion the couple shared. He has since demolished it and built a larger home in its place.
He married Bosnian model Andrea Rajacic in 2011 and they have three children together.
Locker room gossip
England’s new manager, Thomas Tuchel, 51, married his ex-wife Sisi while he worked in Germany in 2009.
The couple eventually had two daughters, Emma and Kim. She quit her profession as a journalist to raise their young children.
When he was offered a role as Chelsea manager, she moved to the UK in August 2021, and they bought a home near the club’s training ground in Surrey.
But after 13 years together, their marriage broke down. Court documents show that Sisi had cited irreconcilable differences for their split.
Three months after the divorce was finalised, he was seen out and about with his new girlfriend, Natalie Guerriero, 37, and it was revealed they have been dating since May 2022 – just a month after the split.
According to the New York Post, his complicated love life and “erratic” behaviour had become a talking point in the Chelsea locker room. Shortly after, he was fired as the Blues’ boss.