Son of German football star Michael Ballack dies in quad bike crash

The son of the former Chelsea midfielder and Germany captain Michael Ballack has died in a quad bike crash in Portugal, emergency services have said.

Emilio Ballack, 18, was driving the vehicle on land owned by his father in Tróia, a peninsula about an hour south of Lisbon, local media reported. The accident took place just after 2am and firefighters tried to save him but he was declared dead at the scene.

Portuguese media reported the teenager had been riding on an uneven piece of land near the Ballack family home, when the bike rolled backwards and fell on top of him.

Chelsea tweeted: “Everybody associated with Chelsea football club is shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Emilio Ballack at the terribly young age of 18. All our thoughts are with his father Michael and his family at this sad time.”

Psychologists also attended the scene to provide support to the family.

Emilio was born in 2002 to Michael’s then girlfriend Simone Lambe. The former Germany captain has two more sons from his relationship with Lambe.

During an illustrious career, which also included four years at Bayern Munich, Michael Ballack reached two Champions League finals with Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea respectively. He won four Bundesliga titles and three German cups, as well the Premier League title with Chelsea and three FA Cups. He represented Germany 98 times.

Rudi Völler, the current managing director of sport at Leverkusen, said: “The news shocked me and I am deeply affected. We mourn the boy and feel for Michael and Simone. We all here at Bayer wish the whole Ballack family an incredible amount of strength.”