International Football
FORMER ARSENAL & COTE D’ IVOIRE STAR, EBOUE IN SUICIDE THOUGHTS
Former Cote d’Ivoire international and Arsenal cult hero Emmanuel Eboue, is reportedly considering committing suicide after being left completely broke following a bitter divorce and mismanagement of his fortunes.
Sports Village Square has gathered from UK tabloid that, Daily Mail that the former successful international footballer barely has enough money for an Oyster bus card.
The player who featured in the Cote d’Ivoire’s 2-1 loss to Nigeria in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal clash at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa, is also estranged from his three children
He’s been forced to hand over his North London mansion now dodges bailiffs.
At the peak of his career, Eboue played in a UEFA Champions League final, earned millions in a seven year English Premier League career and slept in a palatial home and drove expensive cars.
But in a shock revelation former Arsenal cult figure Emmanuel Eboue admitted to another British tabloid, Sunday Mirror he’s penniless and has been close to suicide.
The 34-year-old who appeared for Arsene Wenger‘s side between 2004 and 2011 has admitted he’s seriously considered taking his own life after financial mismanagement has left him skin and a bitter divorce that has meant he is estranged from his three children.
Eboue, who also earned £1.5m a year at Galatasaray, now dodges bailiffs at his mansion
At the height of his career at the Emirates he took home a seven-digit sum every year during his time in North London, earning a further £1.5 million annually playing for Turkish giants Galatasaray.
However, with his former wife Aurelie being awarded of all the couple’s assets, he has been forced to dodge police and bailiffs following a court order – insisting he hand over his home in Enfield to her.
Heartbreakingly, the former Gunner – whose infectious smile and unorthodox defending helped build a cult following among football fans across the globe – has been unable to visit his kids since the estrangement from Aurelie in June.
The likeable former Cote d’Ivoire international is also sadly estranged from his three children
He is inconsolable at not being able to see his nine-year-old son Mathis and two daughters Clara, 14, and Maeva, 12, this Christmas.
To add to that he has been grieving since his late grandfather Amadou Bertin, who brought him up, sadly died after a brave battle against cancer.
To top it all he lost his brother N’Dri Serge, who died in a motorbike crash.
Eboue, who won the free-kick that led to Sol Campbell’s goal for Arsenal against Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final, has been hit hard with misfortune which has brought him to the brink of suicide.
Speaking to The Sunday Mirror he said: ‘I want God to help me. Only he can help take these [suicidal] thoughts from my mind.
“It hurts me a lot [not to see his children]. They used to call me. But now, no contact. It pains me to be alone without them.’
A deadline for troubled Eboue to surrender ownership of the mansion he once shared with Aurelie passed earlier this month, meaning a judge will sign the transfer if Eboue doesn’t.
The Mirror also reported his former wife will rent out the Enfield property but he says he lacks the funds for a barrister or lawyer to help fight his cause.
So now he waits with his bags packed in the hallway for the dreaded knock on the door which will see the law force him to vacate the property he bought in happier times.
He added: ‘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 put everything behind the door.
‘My own house. 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.’
His plans to return to the Premier League for one final payday with Sunderland last season faded after FIFA slapped him with a year’s ban following a dispute with a former advisor.
The former Cote d’Ivoire international who gained 79 caps for his country is remarkably free of bitterness at his former partner Aurelie – but blames previous advisors for FIFA imposing their damaging 12-month playing ban on him.
Eboue, who admits he had a limited education growing up in his country’s capital Abidjan, as he focused on trying to become a professional footballer, also concedes he was ‘naive’ with his fortune.
He accepts he allowed his former wife to take control of their financial affairs, but claims hangers-on bled him dry as they saw him as an easy target because he was never given good advice on how to manage his fortune.
Staggeringly Eboue even recalls having to sign financial paperwork while he was supposed to be training when he was visited by bank staff at London Colney, Arsenal’s training ground.
The Arsenal cult hero now sleeps on a friend’s floor washes his clothes by hand because he can’t afford a washing machine and can just about find the money for an Oyster card – despite once having a bank-busting balance in the black.
But he thanks the PFA for their help and is sharing his story as a cautionary tale to help young African footballers learn from his errors.
He needs a job and would love a role at his former club Arsenal to help tide him over – but says he would be ’embarrassed’ if he saw some of his former team-mates, including Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, because of the current plight he finds himself in.
Eboue’s is a tragic situation which, despite the glamour and undreamed riches available at the top tier of English football, is a heart-breaking and salutatory tale for those in charge of the Premier League.
Yet despite his troubles he is still fighting hard, as he thanks God, adding: ‘I didn’t want what has happened. I don’t wish it on anybody.’
International Football
New global players’ union launched in Madrid amid rift with FIFPRO

Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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International Football
New trial over soccer legend Maradona’s death begins in Argentina

A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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International Football
Senegal’s Cisse named Angola coach 24 hours after leaving Libya role

Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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