Emilio Ballack: Son of ex-Chelsea midfielder Michael killed in quad-bike crash aged 18

The youngster was killed in an accident near family holiday home

(AFP via Getty Images)

The teenage son of former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has died after being crushed by a quad bike, reports say.

Emilio, the second of three children between Ballack and his former partner Simone Lambe, was in an accident involving the vehicle on private property as it turned over and fell on top of him, with emergency responders unable to rescue the 18-year-old.

The tragedy occurred in Portugal, at a family holiday home in Troia, south of Lisbon, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

There has so far been no official comment from the family, but his former club Chelsea tweeted out their condolences after the emergence of multiple reports of the accident.

“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,” it read.

Ballack, now 44, won 98 caps for Germany as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.

He spent four years with Chelsea between 2006 and 2010, winning the Premier League in that time, while he also won three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and another with Kaiserslautern in his early years.

Ballack infamously missed out on the biggest prizes of all, though, being a losing finalist in the Champions League with Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea, as well as in both the European Championship and World Cup with Germany.