BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER and Ana Ivanovic were the ultimate sporting power couple.

One of the best midfielders of his generation who helped his country win the World Cup.

The couple tied the knot in 2016 in Venice

She retired in 2016

And a tennis superstar, a former world No1 and a Grand Slam champion.

But reports in Germany claim Schweinsteiger and Ivanovic have sadly split up after nine years of marriage.

Ivanovic is now said to be living in Serbia with their three sons, almost 1,000 miles away from her husband in Munich.

It is far cry from the whirlwind romance they enjoyed more than a decade ago.

FAMOUS FACES

Schweinsteiger, 40, is three years older than his glamorous wife.

A talented ski racer, he joined the Bayern Munich academy in 1998 and decided to stick with football, making his first-team debut in 2002.

He spent 13 years in the Bayern team, racking up exactly 500 appearances, 68 goals and 18 trophies, including a Bundesliga-DFB Pokal-Champions League treble in 2012-13.

Ivanovic, meanwhile, began her pro tennis career in 2003 and reached the Wimbledon Junior final the following year.

By 2007, she was one of the best players on the planet and reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open.

That was followed by a semi-final run at Wimbledon.

Then in 2008, the Serbian lost the Australian Open final then enjoyed the high point of her career by beating Dinara Safina to win the French Open and reach the top of the world rankings.

It proved to be her only major title - she reached the semis again in 2015, the year she was voted tennis' "hottest" player - but she racked up nearly £12million in prize money on the court.

SPORTING ROMANCE

The peak of the footballer’s professional career came in 2014 when he was part of the Germany team that beat Argentina to win the World Cup final.

And just a few months later, his personal life was transformed, too.

Schweinsteiger was set up with the tennis star by a mutual friend, who was herself revelling in a resurgent year on the WTA Tour.

The German’s basketball friend Steffen Hamman linked the duo up in New York - but even had two sets of code words ready depending on how the first meeting went: "come on, let’s go for a walk together" or "okay, see you later, Steffen".

Schweinsteiger told Bild: "I wasn't that good at English when we met, so I listened to Ana a lot at the beginning.

"I was a bit on the defensive and saw what was coming.

“It was love at first sight. You feel special moments and you can recognise them when you look deeply into someone's eyes - that's exactly how it was with me."

PARK PROPOSAL

After overcoming his initial nerves, their love was clearly blossoming.

And within just a few months, Schweinsteiger decided to get down on one knee and pop the question - and did so in classy, romantic style.

He said: "In London, there are small parks that are only accessible to local residents and then I secretly rented the park from the film called Notting Hill.

"Of course I knew that Ana was extremely curious and when we walked past the gate ajar, I said to her, 'Come on. We'll see.'

"And then we went in there and then I asked her. This came as a complete surprise to her.

"I was able to score a few points with her family by asking Ana’s father for her hand in marriage in Serbian.

"I flew to Belgrade and asked.”

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE

Schweinsteiger and Ivanovic tied the knot in Venice in July 2016.

It came five months after she hung up her racquet in retirement and at the end of his first season with Manchester United.

They welcomed their first child, son Luca, in 2018 and Leon was born the following year.

Then their third - another son, Theo - arrived in May 2023 and spent time living in Majorca.

SPLIT APART

However, the shock news from Germany suggested the celebrity duo have gone their separate ways.

It is claimed by Bild they broke up around two months ago - partly due to the strain of a lack of time together.

Schweinsteiger is now based in Munich but travels a lot for work as a pundit and Champions League ambassador.

However, Ivanovic is thought to be in her hometown of Belgrade with the boys near her parents and brother.

Despite the rumoured split, the pair still have plenty of joint Instagram posts together.

They both feature in a video advert for fashion label Brax on her account as recently as March 28.

But, crucially, he is not tagged or mentioned - and they walk away awkwardly from each other in the clip.

Ivanovic has posted a whole host of selfies in recent months but her last photo with Schweinsteiger is dated November 25, 2024 - with a smiling photo of the pair on a trip to Vienna.

But there is no suggestion at this stage that the couple have filed for divorce at this stage, leaving hope for fans their relationship could be repaired and their love rekindled.