Former Chelsea and Arsenal star goalkeeper Petr Čech has announced that he and his wife, Martina, are going their separate ways after being together for 26 years.
The 42-year-old football legend shared the news on Instagram with an emotional post. Alongside a black-and-white photo showing Martina kissing him on the cheek, Čech wrote, “Martina and I are sad to announce that we are separating after 26 years together. We remain best friends and are immensely proud of our two children.”
Petr and Martina first met back in 1999 when they were still teenagers. Four years later, in June 2003, they got married. Over the years, they built a family together. Their daughter, Adela, now 17, is a talented footballer who plays as a defender for the Czech Republic’s Under-17 national team. Their 16-year-old son, Damian, is following in his father’s footsteps as a goalkeeper and has already signed his first professional contract with Fulham.
In January 2008, when Adela was born, Čech was unable to be there for her birth because Chelsea had an away match against Everton in the League Cup semi-final ,a game he ended up not playing in.
Petr Čech enjoyed one of the most successful careers in Premier League history. He joined Chelsea in 2004 from French club Rennes for £7 million. Over the next 11 years, he became a key part of the team, playing 494 games and winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and, most memorably, helping Chelsea win their first-ever UEFA Champions League trophy in 2012.
In 2015, Čech moved to Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal, where he won another FA Cup before retiring from professional football in 2019. Even after hanging up his gloves, he remained active in sports , playing ice hockey as a goalkeeper and working as Chelsea’s technical and performance advisor. He left the role in 2022 after Todd Boehly’s group took over the club.
The news of the couple’s separation marks the end of one of football’s most enduring love stories, a relationship that had lasted through the highs and lows of a long and celebrated career.
