A former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper, Petr Čech, has revealed that he and his wife, Martina, are parting ways after 26 years of marriage.
The 43-year-old football icon shared the emotional announcement on Instagram, accompanied by a black-and-white photo of Martina kissing him on the cheek.
In his heartfelt post on Thursday, Čech wrote, “Martina and I are saddened to share that we are separating after 26 years together. We remain best friends and are incredibly proud of our two children.” The couple, who met as teenagers in 1999 and married in 2003, share daughter Adela, 17, and son Damian, 16.
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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 multiple trophies, including four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and the UEFA Champions League in 2012. He moved to Arsenal in 2015, adding another FA Cup before retiring in 2019.
Since hanging up his boots, Čech has ventured into ice hockey as a goalkeeper and served as Chelsea’s technical and performance advisor until 2022, when he left the role following Todd Boehly’s takeover of the club