Eboué denies claims of ditching local girlfriend for foreign marriage

Former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboué has rebuffed claims that he ignored his native girlfriend to marry a Belgian woman during his career.

The ex-footballer explained that, as a young man, he had a relationship with a local lady, but it did not last long and they broke up.

He clarified that by the time he left Côte d’Ivoire for Belgium in 2000, he was not dating anyone locally, and therefore decided to settle down with a Belgian woman, Aurélie Bertrand, who later became his ex-wife.

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Speaking on the 5thHouse Podcast, Eboué disclosed that media reports on the matter made him laugh because he knew there was no truth in the claims.

“You know, that’s a stupid thing. I didn’t even know where that came from, because I didn’t leave a girlfriend or anything like that. No, no, no. When I came straight to Belgium, I was very young, so I didn’t have any girlfriend in my country. Even when I read that, I was laughing. I said, ‘Oh my God, now people can kill you for nothing. They don’t know anything, but they say what they want,’” he said.

He further explained that he had dated a lady but broke up with her before leaving for Belgium.

“So when I went there… okay, I had a girlfriend when I was in my country, but before leaving, I was alone. I went to Belgium in 2000, and then I met the mother of my kids,” he added.

Watch the interview below:



SB/EB

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