Jose Antonio Reyes dies in traffic accident✝

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José Antonio Reyes Calderón (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse anˈtonjo ˈreʝes kaldeˈɾon]; 1 September 1983 – 1 June 2019) was a Spanish professional footballer who played mainly as a left winger but also as a forward.[1]

He made his professional debut for Sevilla at only 16, signing for England's Arsenal in January 2004. He returned to Spain after two years, going on to represent the two largest clubs in Madrid, Real and Atlético Madrid, and winning La Liga with the former. He also had a short loan spell in Portugal with Benfica, re-joining Sevilla late in his career and winning the Europa League three times for a record total of five.[2][3] He was playing for Extremadura UD when he died in a car crash at the age of 35.

Reyes earned 21 caps for Spain, and represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup.

Early years
Born in Utrera, Province of Seville to Romani parents,[4][5][6] Reyes joined the youth ranks of local Sevilla FC at the age of 10 and went on to represent the club at all youth levels.

Reyes finally signed a full contract in 1999, making his main squad debuts during 1999–2000 at just 16 in a game against Real Zaragoza,[7][8] and was later called up to Spain's squad for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship. With the Andalusians now in Segunda División, he added another first-team appearance.[9]

After Sevilla were promoted, Reyes established his reputation as a versatile offensive unit in the following years, his 25 goals in official matches over the course of four seasons leading to other teams taking notice.

Arsenal
Despite Sevilla manager Joaquín Caparrós wishing to hang onto him, Reyes signed with English side Arsenal during the January transfer window of the 2003–04 campaign.[8] The £10.5 million transfer fee was negotiated with top ups, depending on the success of Arsenal, which eventually rose to £17 million.[10]

He made his debut on 1 February 2004 in a 2–1 win over Manchester City, and two days later he scored an own goal against Middlesbrough in the Football League Cup.[11] Later that month, he netted twice against Chelsea to knock them out of the FA Cup;[12] he also scored against the latter opponent in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League,[13] and his goals in the penultimate two games of the season helped keep Arsenal's unbeaten run in the Premier League going.

Hat-tricks in friendlies during the summer 2004 showed Reyes' improvement, and he was a prominent influence on his team's impressive start to 2004–05, in which he managed to score in each of the first six games. He was named as the Premier League Player of the Month for August 2004.[14] However, he struggled during midway through the season after their defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford, and performed inconsistently overall.

In early 2005, Reyes was reported to be homesick while at Arsenal, even though his parents, Mari and Francisco, as well as brother Jesús lived with him in England. During a prank call perpetrated by Cadena COPE in February 2005, a prankster claiming to be Emilio Butragueño, director of football of Real Madrid, speaking on behalf of the president, reportedly called the player's agent and spoke to him about a possible transfer deal. In the ensuing conversation, the latter allegedly declared that life in London was far from what he had envisioned and he would welcome a move back to his country; he also supposedly said that he wanted out of the club as there were "bad people" at Arsenal.[15]

On 21 May 2005, Reyes became only the second player in history (after Kevin Moran) to be sent off in an FA Cup final, when he was dismissed for a second yellow card shortly before the end of extra time against Manchester United, though Arsenal still went on to win the game in a penalty shootout.[16] He temporarily ended speculation about a move away from Highbury in July, when he signed a new six-year contract and declared that he was "looking forward to having many more successful years at the club."[17]

Reyes featured heavily in the Gunners' 2005–06 Champions League run, against, among others, Real Madrid, Juventus F.C. and Villarreal CF, coming on as a substitute in the final against FC Barcelona, which Arsenal lost 1–2.[18] However, in August 2006, he expressed a desire not to play in the club's Champions League qualifying match against NK Dinamo Zagreb – to do so would render him 'cup-tied' and complicate a move to Real Madrid;[19] manager Arsène Wenger left him out of the team, thus fuelling speculation that a transfer was soon to be agreed.

Death
On 1 June 2019, Reyes died at the age of 35 following a car crash

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