“We haven’t spoken to each other for a few weeks”
Lukas Podolski’s Netflix documentary reveals marital crisis
Updated June 5, 2026 – 8:02 amReading time: 2 minutes
A documentary about Lukas Podolski is being released just in time for his 41st birthday. It’s not just the beautiful aspects of his life that are discussed.
Netflix shows former German national player Lukas Podolski from an unusual side in a 90-minute documentary. The focus is not on the career, but on the private life – with insights into everyday family life, doubts and a marital crisis.
Wife Monika Podolski gives her first interview in the documentary. She cannot be seen, only heard. Podolski explained to the dpa news agency: “Right from the start, my wife wasn’t the one who wanted to be in the foreground. We had a compromise. People had to do a lot of convincing.” She was open to the role because she wanted the documentary to be something special.
Monika Podolski talks about her first meeting with the then youth player of 1. FC Cologne – “At the table tennis table at school” – and about a marital crisis after he moved again to 1. FC Cologne in 2008: “There were moments in Cologne where we didn’t speak to each other for a few weeks, where we argued, where we weren’t together for a few weeks.” The two quickly got back together afterwards.
“We had a different approach”
The film is produced by bildtonfabrik, known for the series “How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)”. Directed by Nicolas Berse-Gilles and Simone Schillinger. In addition to family members, football greats such as Joachim Löw, Oliver Kahn, Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller also have their say. At the premiere in the Cologne stadium last week, Podolski said: “We had a different approach, wanted to include a little less football and a little more other scenes. I think we succeeded in that quite well.”
The documentary was originally intended to follow Podolski during his final season as a professional at Górnik Zabrze. While filming, he decided to stick around for another season. Director Schillinger and director Berse-Gilles explained: “If we had made a pure sports documentary, the last season would probably have been the more interesting. After all, Lukas and his club won the cup and were runners-up. But our film is not a classic sports documentary.”