A World Cup-winning captain and Ballon d’Or winner and the most capped German player in history, Lothar Matthaus is a bonafide football great.
The first outfield player to play at five consecutive World Cups – and one of only six players to have achieved the feat – the 62-year-old won the Bundesliga seven times with Bayern Munich and a Serie A title with Inter Milan.
Arguably one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the game, Matthaus’ life off the pitch has seldom been quiet, with the former Germany captain going through five divorces.
Matthaus married his first wife, Silvia, in 1981. The couple had two children – Alisa born in 1986 and Viola born in 1988 – but divorced in 1992.
In the same year, Lolita Morena gave birth to his third child, Loris.
Lothar Matthaus (left) captained West Germany in their 1990 World Cup triumph
The 62-year-old’s life off the pitch has seldom been boring, with Matthaus divorcing five times
The Germany great most recent divorce came in 2021, when he separated from his fifth wife, Anastasia Klimko
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Matthaus and Morena, a Swiss model and TV presenter who represented her country at Miss World in 1982 and Miss Universe a year later, were married in 1994 but divorced in 1999 shortly before his retirement.
Matthaus swapped the pitch for the dugout two years later, beginning his managerial career at Rapid Vienna in September 2001 before taking charge of Partizan Belgrade in December of the following year.
Success as a manager may have eluded him, but he found love again in the Serbian capital in the shape of 31-year-old fashion entrepreneur Marijana Colic.
Colic, who along founding two fashion brands was the face of Samsung’s football-themed campaign during the 2006 World Cup, was married to Serbian agribusiness magnate Miodrag Kostic between 1990 and 1999.
She and Matthaus tied the knot in November 2003, but their marriage came to an end four years later after a lengthy divorce case in Salzburg – their last shared residence.
The pair initially separated after Matthaus began dating Ukrainian model Kristina Liliana Chudinova in 2007.
Colic, who still bears Matthaus’ surname, filed for divorce soon afterward.
‘I believe in myself, I have security,’ she told Serbian outlet Blic at the time.
Matthaus married his first wife Sylvia in 1981 and divorced in 1992. The couple are pictured here with their second child Viola in 1990
Matthaus married TV presenter and Swiss model Lolita Morena (right) in 1994
The couple were married for five years but divorced in 1999, shortly before his retirement
‘I would not like to comment on Lothar. My character is such that I constantly look forward and do not live for yesterday.
‘For me, life is today and tomorrow. I don’t want to talk about Lothar at all and give him importance like that. He is yesterday for me. The past.’
During the year-long divorce case, the couple allegedly looked to reach an out-of-court settlement over the division of their assets.
The former Bayern Munich reportedly offered his ex-wife an €100,000 settlement and the ownership of their penthouse in Budapest.
While details of the divorce case were not made public, Blic reported Colic did not appeal the ruling, suggesting she was satisfied with the outcome.
By the time the divorce was officially ratified in January 2009, Matthaus had already married Chudinova. He was 47 at the time, 26 years older than her.
The pair met at the Oktoberfest in Munich in 2007 and exchanged vows in Las Vegas in December 2008.
‘Yes it is true. We got married. We wanted a symbol of our love,’ Matthaus told Bild weeks after the ceremony.
Matthaus married his third wife, Marijana Colic, in 2003 but divorced in 2007
Matthaus’ third wife (pictured here with pop star Rita Ora, right) is a successful fashion entrepreneur and was previously married to one of Serbia’s richest men
Matthaus then married Ukrainian model Kristina Liliana Chudinova in 2008
The pair separated in 2010 after pictures of Chudinova embracing an unnamed millionaire on a yacht off Sardinia made the headlines on German tabloids
Matthaus’ most recent marriage came in 2014, when he tied the know with Klimko
The pair have a son, Milan, pictured here with his parents at a Bayern Munich game in March
‘Everyone must see that we belong together. The wedding wasn’t kitsch at all, but very romantic.’
The fact the pair tied the knot came as a surprise in itself, give they briefly went separate ways in February 2008 before reconciling their differences.
The Matthaus lived in Tel Aviv, where the former Germany star took charge of Maccabi Netanya in June 2008, only to terminate his contract in April of the following year with the club mired in financial dire straits.
Matthaus’ fourth marriage hit the rocks early in 2010, when tabloids released pictures of his wife passionately embracing an unnamed Monaco businessman on his yacht during a holiday in Sardinia.
Matthaus told Bild he knew another divorce would be inevitable when he saw the pictures.
‘I am bitterly disappointed because I would do anything for my wife. When we started living separately six months ago, I helped her get back on her feet,’ he told the German outlet.
‘Being a model is her dream. I am really sad and all this is very hard to take.’
Perhaps more surprisingly, news of the divorce did not come as a surprise for Marijana, his third wife.
‘I keep in touch with him regularly, so I know what’s going on,’ she said.
Matthaus and his third wife Marijana pictured at the Munich Oktoberfest
The German great also attended the Oktoberfest with Chudinova when they were together
Matthaus and his ex-wife Anastasia were at the Oktoberfest together in October last year
‘He has been separated for a while so it was only a matter of time before they made it an official divorce.
‘Two months ago he told me he wanted to end it with her.’
Matthaus married for a fifth and hitherto last time in 2014, when he tied the know with Anastasia Klimko, from whom he had a son, Milan.
The couple divorced in 2021 but were spotted together at the Oktoberfest two years later, leading to speculations a rekindling of their flame may be on the cards.
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