Soccer Star’s Wife Says He Ghosted Their Family After Moving to U.S.
The wife of Swedish soccer star Emil Forsberg announced that she was divorcing the 32-year-old after he apparently “ghosted” her and the couple’s two children when he moved to the United States earlier this year. Forsberg signed to the New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer team in early 2024, making his starting debut in the opening match of the season in February 2024.
“We will part ways. Words I thought I would never utter after two children and 19 years together and that still feels unreal,” Shanga Forsberg wrote in a lengthy, heart wrenching statement posted to Instagram on Monday, telling her husband that she loved him “more than anything” and always supported him.
“But even love has its limits,” she said. “The greatest love is my children and I want them to know their worth just as I know mine. Being taken for granted and neglected is not love.”
According to the Daily Beast, Emil and Shanga, 31, are both from Sundsvall, Sweden and began dating when they were in their pre-teens. They married in July 2016 and just welcomed their second daughter last summer after seven years of marriage.
“A new start in New York was apparently a new start for you and your life,” Shanga explained. “It was just that I, being a child, did not know about it beforehand. But it became painfully clear quickly. In the newspapers, we have read and seen that you are doing well and are ‘enjoying every moment.’ You also have future plans. We didn’t know about them either.”
“If the reporters even knew you’ve been talking to them more than your family these past few months,” she continued. “Since you haven’t communicated at all, apart from insisting that you can’t explain your actions, let time tell what it was you wanted to achieve by ghosting your family. I hope that in the future you can show respect and consideration for others despite your own needs. And have the courage and maturity to communicate.”
Shanga concluded her statement by promising to continue putting their children’s well being and security first. “For your sake, I hope you don’t regret it and that your new life in NY is worth a divorce and the way you treated your children and their mother,” she added.
Forsberg’s apparent about-face comes months after Shanga expressed excitement over the move in a Dec. 22 Instagram post. “Excited for what’s to come. Happy to stay in the family. New York, New York, [we’re going to] New York!” she wrote at the time.
For his part, Forsberg has not publicly commented on his family situation. The midfielder, who also plays for Sweden’s national team, was abroad for a match against Albania on Monday afternoon but is expected to return to New York City later this week following FIFA’s international break.
