Congratulations to David Ginola, who has become a father to a brand new baby girl! The former footballer, 51, proudly shared the news on his Twitter account, writing in both English and French: "I'm ecstatic, so very happy, just became the father of a very beautiful little girl…" This is the first baby for David and his 28-year-old model girlfriend, Maeva Denat. The pair started dating in 2016, shortly after the sportsman split from his wife of 25 years, Coraline. The former couple share two grown-up children together, football agent son Andrea, 26, and fashion blogger daughter Carla, 22.
David Ginola has welcomed a baby girl with model girlfriend Maeva Denat
It comes less than two years after David suffered a near-fatal heart attack in May 2016 while playing in a charity football match in France. The star later said he was "clinically dead" for eight minutes during the trauma, and had to be revived by paramedics using a defibrillator before being airlifted to hospital. He then underwent a six-hour quadruple heart bypass to clear his blocked arteries.
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The 51-year-old pictured in 2015 with now ex-wife Coraline and their daughter Carla
Speaking to the Sun about his ordeal, David said: "I was running back to the halfway line when boom, my heart just stopped and I hit the ground face-first. The players thought I was joking, but then my friends said, 'Look at him, he is not ok, he is not fooling around.'" He added: "It's strange because there were no warnings. I don’t remember anything, but I have been told I was doing flick-overs during the game and scoring goals."
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David played over 500 games as a professional footballer, starting his club career at Toulon before moving onto Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa. Famed for his good looks, he also made history as the first man to front L'Oréal hair products back in 1997.