Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is preparing to face Liverpool but his personal life has also attracted attention during his time as a manager.

Diego Simeone has seen his love life come under the spotlight during his time as Atletico Madrid boss. The Argentine coach has been in charge of the Spanish club since December 2011, making him one of the longest-serving managers in European football.

The 56-year-old has overseen a successful era, placing Atleti firmly in contention to challenge the traditional dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Simeone has won two La Liga titles, two Europa Leagues and the Copa del Rey as he approaches 15 years at the helm.

Atleti have also twice reached the Champions League final but painfully lost out to their city rivals on both occasions. This year, there is added motivation for Simeone to claim the elusive trophy, with the 2026/27 final being played at the club's Metropolitano Stadium.

The Spanish side begin their league phase campaign away at Liverpool on Wednesday, renewing a familiar rivalry between the two teams. While he focuses on success on the pitch, Simeone has also had to contend with his personal life being scrutinised away from the dugout.

Diego Simeone's divorce

Having been a high-profile player before taking over at Atletico, Simeone's separation from model Carolina Baldini captured attention. The couple had tied the knot in 1994 and officially divorced in 2014, although they'd been publicly separated for several years.

While Simeone has since remarried, tensions between him and Carolina resurfaced in 2022. The row began after Carolina addressed the reasons for their split, prompting the Atletico manager to respond.

“The separation was on good terms. There is always something, I'm not going to lie to you,” Carolina said on Argentine TV show LAM. “But the truth is that it was very friendly. I was the one who made the decision to separate us.”

In May 2022, Simeone spoke about his ex-wife to La Nacion: “I'm tired of her going out to talk after 15 years. Even more so knowing that I never talked about everything that happened and the damage it caused.

“She continues to speak as if no one had memory. I got tired of trying to take care of my children and protect them of the environment. There is no turning back. She broke strong family codes and I have no more patience.”

New wife with 17-year age gap

Hola reports that Diego met Carla Pereyra, a property company CEO, at a restaurant in 2013. The 39-year-old Argentine, who had risen to fame as a reality TV star in Spain, soon began a relationship with Simeone.

In June 2019, the couple got married in a private ceremony in Buenos Aires. Posting on Instagram, the caption read: "Today, June 14, in an intimate ceremony with our family, we have married civilly. We are very happy!"  Following their private wedding, the happy couple held a larger second ceremony three months later in Tuscany, with 97 guests in attendance.

“We didn' t need a huge party to have a beautiful wedding, so it was perfect,” Carla told Vanitatis magazine. “Plus, we actually had time to be with all our guests and share moments with each of them. It was a perfect wedding.”

Five kids

Diego has five children across his two marriages. He has three sons with ex-wife Carolina, all of whom have chosen to pursue careers in football. His eldest Giovanni is a striker for Torino; Giuliano is part of his father's squad at Atletico; while the couple’s middle child Gianluca has become an agent after retiring from the sport at a young age.

The Atleti manager also had two younger children with his second wife Carla, welcoming daughters Francesca and Valentina into the world. Carla has previously spoken about Diego's close bond with their two kids.

“His children are the centre of his life,” she said to Hello Magazine. “When he's with them, he's happy and they're his first priority... he's managed to reinvent himself as a father and that makes him even stronger.”