Former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech has revealed that he and his wife, Martina, are separating after 26 years together.
The 43-year-old football icon shared the news on Instagram, posting a black-and-white photo of Martina kissing him on the cheek.
“Martina and myself are sad to announce that we are separating after 26 years together,” Čech wrote. “We remain best friends and immensely proud of our two children.”
The couple met as teenagers in 1999 and married in June 2003. They have two children – Adela, 17, who plays as a defender for the Czech Republic’s Under-17 national team, and Damian, 16, who recently signed his first professional goalkeeping contract with Fulham.
Čech famously missed Adela’s birth in January 2008 while away with Chelsea for a League Cup semi-final against Everton, a match in which he did not play.
During his illustrious football career, Čech joined Chelsea from Rennes in 2004 for £7 million, making 494 appearances and winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and the 2012 UEFA Champions League. He later joined Arsenal in 2015, winning another FA Cup before retiring in 2019.
Post-retirement, Čech switched sports to become an ice hockey goalkeeper and served as Chelsea’s technical and performance advisor until leaving in 2022 after Todd Boehly’s takeover of the club.
