Ex-Arsenal star reveals how he 'lost everything' after brutal divorce battle

The name Emmanuel Eboue instantly triggers affection and warmth from Arsenal fans.

The Ivorian right-back went from occasional figure of derision to a cult hero cherished by the Gunners as he made more than 200 appearances for the club.

Eboue, now 42, earned £20million during his football career and was an inspiring success story, particularly for those back in his homeland.

But those heady days at the top of the game later turned into a nightmare as his life off the pitch unravelled, leaving him with nothing.

The genesis of his issues was back in 2016 when he was sacked by Sunderland after being banned from football for 12 months by FIFA over unpaid debt owed to his ex-agent Sébastien Boisseau.

He was ordered to pay £790,000 to his former representative and refused.

The case had been rumbling on in the background for four years but still came as a surprise to both the FA and Sunderland at the time the verdict was issued.

At the time, furious Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce said: 'Why have we sacked him? He can’t come to training, he can’t even be in the ground and can’t come through the entrance barriers.

'It’s a full-blown job. He’s upset but he has to take responsibility because he hasn’t communicated with the people who were trying to resolve it over the past few years.

'We first found out seven days ago when we got the notice through to say that if he didn’t sort this out he could be banned for 12 months. He tried to sort it but it hasn’t been accepted and the ban finally came through.

'The people he’s relied on haven’t communicated well enough with him and he hasn’t communicated well enough with them. Certainly nobody has communicated well enough with us to try and avoid this situation.

'We can cope and move on but this could finish his career once and for all if he’s not careful. That’s what Emmanuel has to think about.'

Allardyce was right, the situation did indeed end Eboue's time in professional football but was only the start of his woes.

He believes it was the trigger for what followed, a brutal divorce from his then wife Aurelie, a Belgian woman who he shares three children with.

Speaking on The 5th House Podcast, Eboue said: 'They wanted me to give them [my agent] €1million, so I said I would prefer to stop playing football then give them that money.

'My ex-agent went to FIFA and then FIFA banned me for one year. I moved back to Turkey to hide, because I didn’t want people to know I didn’t have a club, and that’s when the divorce started.

'I lost a lot. A lot. To be honest, I don’t want to say how much but it was a lot.

'I lost everything in my life in England. I did everything in my career in England, I bought a lot of houses there. I had three houses there, and I had a lot of cars. I lost all of them and I lost money also.'

Understandably, the personal, professional and financial turmoil had a massive impact on Eboue's mental state.

He even boarded up his windows and said he felt so low he couldn't even bring himself to eat.

Eboue went on: 'I was very, very down. I was feeling very down because I was living somewhere that the press knew where I was living.

'So every day the press was there, so I had to cut up boxes and then put them on the windows because I don’t want the press or media to take pictures of me.

'I was very, very down, It was very bad, I didn’t even eat.'

One of the most heartbreaking elements of Eboue's story is the broken relationship between him and his 17-year-old son Mathis, who is a highly promising young player at Chelsea.

At the time Mathis agreed terms with the Blues, Eboue was quotes as speaking about his pride and surprise that his youngster had developed into such a strong player.

But he has since revealed that they have not spoken for around five years and was 'crying inside' that he didn't even know about Mathis joining Chelsea at the time.

He went on: 'I feel very sad because when he signed for Chelsea, I wasn’t there.

'So my Mum didn’t call me also, so I didn’t even know. Because before I was talking with him. But now, since four, nearly five years, I didn’t even have any contact with him.

'So these things, when I’m talking about, it’s paining me a lot because he’s my son.

'And then when I was with him, I teach him also how to play football. I have some video of me and him when we were playing.

'To be honest, I’m very happy for him. I didn’t even think that he will be there, but now I’m very very happy for him.

'But inside, in my body, I’m crying because I want to be closer to my son to help him.'

Eboue has come a long way since his darkest days and emerged out of the other side, adding: 'I lost everything, my whole life was in England and I lost everything but thank God now I feel better.

'I have a new life with my wife (Stephanie) now, she understands what is going on in my life, when I met that beautiful Ivorian woman, she helped me a lot, she's trying her best to make me happy!

He now coaches and mentors young players in Ivory Coast and shares his own problems and experiences with them.

'Even now I tell them what happened to me because I don't want them to have the same problems,' he said.

'Not everyone has a good mentality like me, so I always tell them to choose a good wife because I can't choose for them, they have to know that in football if you are not completely focused it can go badly for you so I give them good advice, they're like younger brothers.'

Eboue also works for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) now and hopes one of his former clubs, Arsenal or Galatasaray, will one day give him a role.

The former defender was signed by Arsene Wenger and broke through in north London back in 2004.

He took Lauren's place in the side when the Frenchman went down with a serious injury the following season and was part of the Arsenal team that lost to Barcelona in the Champions League final.

In 2011, after seven years with Arsenal, he left to join Galatasaray for £3million and established himself in Turkey, making 77 appearances before his career came to an ignominious end at Sunderland without even playing one game for the Black Cats.