Robert Pires becomes a father for the fourth time at 53 with birth of daughter Olivia

Robert Pires, the former Arsenal and France midfielder, announced the birth of his fourth child on Instagram on Saturday — a daughter named Olivia, born on 31 October 2026, with his new partner whose identity has not been made public.

Pires, 53, shared a series of black-and-white photographs to mark the occasion, including a touching image of himself holding his newborn daughter’s hand, captioned simply: “Olivia Pires 31/10/2026. Welcome my baby girl.” Further images showed his partner cradling her pregnant bump and Pires leaving hospital with Olivia secured in a baby carrier.

The announcement comes two years after Pires ended his 21-year relationship with French model Jessica Lemarie, to whom he had been married for 11 years. The former couple have three children together, including 19-year-old Theo, who is carving out his own professional football career at Metz — the same club where his father began his playing days.

Pires was also previously married to his first wife, Nathalie, for six years, a relationship that ended in divorce in 2003 while he was at Arsenal. They did not have children together.

A wave of congratulations followed the announcement from across the football world. Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva responded with heart emojis, while ex-Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech wrote: “Congratulations, Robert!” Defender Sol Campbell added: “Love and happiness!” Among the other former professionals to offer their best wishes were Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Franck Ribery, and ex-Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue.

Pires arrived at Arsenal from Marseille in 2000 and went on to make 284 appearances for the club, scoring 84 goals and winning two Premier League titles and two FA Cups. He was a central figure in Arsene Wenger’s celebrated Invincibles side, which completed the entire 2003/04 Premier League season unbeaten, forming a formidable attacking unit alongside Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. His final Arsenal appearance came in the 2006 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona, after which he joined Villarreal before later returning to England with Aston Villa in 2010.