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Emilio Ballack, the teenage son of former Germany and Chelsea footballer Michael Ballack, has died after being crushed by a quad-bike near the family's holiday home in Portugal.

The 18-year-old was involved in the accident around 2am Thursday at the family's Villas do Mar estate, near the town of Troia which is just south of the capital, Lisbon. 

Police said the teenager had been riding on an uneven piece of land when the bike rolled backwards and fell on top of him. Firefighters had to pull him free of the wreck before medics tried to revive him, but their efforts proved in vain and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

'The accident happened at the family home. The quad rider wasn't on a public road and his was the only vehicle involved,' an officer told Portuguese media. 

The teenager’s body has been taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the city of Santiago de Cacem for a post-mortem. Ballack has yet to make any official comment.

Emilio is the middle of Ballack's three sons - born in 2002 to then-girlfriend Simone Lambe, who Ballack would marry in 2008 but divorce in 2012. Eldest son Louis was born in 2001, and youngest Jordi was born in 2005.  

The 18-year-old was crushed by a quad-bike near the family's holiday home in Portugal, according to reports

On July 25, Emilio's older brother Louis took to Instagram to post about how 'quads were flipped' during downtime with friends in Troia, Portugal

Emilio, 18, pictured in his last Instagram post at the family's holiday home just six days before Thursday's accident in Portugal

Ballack's sons Louis (left), Emilio (second right) and Jordi (right) pose for a picture with their mother Simone (centre left)

According to Portuguese media, the tragedy happened in Troia, a peninsular off the coast of Setubal just south of Lisbon

Emilio recently posted pictures of his time in Portugal at the weekend, showing pictures of his time at the beach with his family.

The teenager had been spending time at Sublime Beach Club in Alentejo a few days ago – a trendy hangout area near the scene of Thursday morning's crash. 

Details of his accident have not yet been disclosed. 

Ballack is widely regarded as one of the best German players of all time and is a Premier League and FA Cup winner with Chelsea.

Chelsea tweeted on Thursday afternoon: 'Everybody associated with Chelsea Football Club is shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Emilio Ballack at the terribly young age of 18.

'All our thoughts are with his father Michael and his family at this sad time.' 

Ballack joined the Blues in 2006 after making his name at Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich before spending four years at Stamford Bridge.   

Emilio (left), who has an older and younger brother, pictured playing a round of golf with his dad Michael back in 2015

Chelsea icon and Emilio enjoy a day out in New York City in 2019, where they spent some downtime in Times Square (right)

Ballack, pictured with sons Louis, Emilio and Jordi, at the World XI testimonial game at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig in 2013

Ballack waves to the crowd at his testimonial as he walks around the pitch with Jordi, Emilio (second left) and Louis in 2013

Ballack made 98 appearances for Germany, scoring 42 goals in the process.

After joining Chelsea for £18million in 2006, Ballack went on to make 167 appearances for the club, scoring 25 goals and registering 24 assists. It was the longest he had spent at a club.

During his time in Germany, Ballack won the Bundesliga three times, along with the DFB-Pokal all in the same year.

During an interview with the Independent in 2009, Ballack revealed how he saw similarities with his own schooling in what was then East Germany.

He said: 'You had to stand up in school and say some things and stand still, and wear some uniform.

'Now I come to England and again my kids are in uniform, in a different way but they have to wear uniform. In West Germany you go to school everybody wears their own stuff.' 

Ballack picked Portugal to rest and recover after having a tumour removed from near his spinal cord last year.

The former Chelsea and Germany midfielder had a growth discovered on his body during an MRI examination by doctor, according to Bild.

The early detection proved fortunate for the 44-year-old and the tumour was removed before lab examinations cleared Ballack of any fears the growth was cancerous. 

More to follow