José Antonio Reyes, a legend of the game with a complicated legacy

José Antonio Reyes left an indelible mark on football, in both his home country of Spain and in England. Despite his modest returns whilst at Arsenal, fans still look back fondly on his time at the club, with many wondering what could have been. Ultimately, his life was cut short in a tragic accident that showcased the host of issues Reyes was dealing with in his personal life. Let's take a look at this tragic story.

Hailing from Utrera, in Spain's Andalusia, the winger came out of the Sevilla FC youth academy system, and made his debut with the first team at just 16 years old in the 1999-2000 season. He became the youngest player ever to wear the Sevilla shirt in a first division match.

Reyes played with the Sevilla club for five seasons and scored a total of 25 goals in the 95 games he played. He is the youngest Spanish player to score in the first division.

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His performances in Seville generated attention international attention, and soon English Premier League scouts were knocking. Arsenal ended up signing him in the 2004 winter market for 30 million euros. That same season, he would win the League – becoming the first Spaniard to do so in history.

He would wear the 'Gunner' jersey for two more seasons as part of Arsene Wegner's 'Invincible' side, in which he also won a Community Shield, an FA Cup, and reached a Champions League final that was ultimately lost to FC Barcelona. Great on paper, but the reality is that Reyes never adapted well to English football and ended up losing his spot in the team.

During this time, Real Madrid showed an interest and acquired his services on loan for one season in 2006-2007. However, this created few opportunities, and Reyes finished with only 7 goals to his name.

From there and without leaving the Spanish capital, he would swap pure white for the red and white of Atlético de Madrid, a team that signed him from Arsenal and where he would start off with a disastrous season. He scored only one goal the whole season and had to deal with hatred from Atlético fans after coming from their chief rivals.

That season to forget ended with a loan to Benfica – a one-year deal with a purchase option. In Portugal, he rose from his ashes having a remarkable season, and the Lisbon club wanted to acquire his services. Unfortunately for them, an agreement was not reached and Reyes ended up returning to Atlético de Madrid.

His return to the red and white also coincided with the arrival of Quique Sánchez Flores – who had already coached Reyes the previous year at Benfica – to the helm. Reyes started the season as a substitute, but little by little he earned a starting spot based on goals and good performances, which changed the fans' negative opinion of him.

Reyes would remain in the Madrid team for three years and won two titles, the Europa League and the European Super Cup, the latter saw Reyes claim a goal in the 2-0 win over Inter Milan.

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However, some issues arose in what would be his last season at Atlético. He began to be substituted regularly, he clashed with his coach – now Gregorio Manzano –and spent several games without being called up at all, until finally, he had totally lost his spot in the side.

On January 5, 2012, he left Madrid and headed back home – he signed for Sevilla FC in what would be the making of Reyes The move saw a rejuvenated Reyes, who brought some of his best form over the next five seasons. Though he was hampered by injuries on numerous occasions, he still managed to win three consecutive Europa Leagues with Sevilla.

In the 2016-2017 season, at the age of 33, he would begin the final stretch of his career, first passing through Espanyol and in 2018 for Córdoba in the second division. After spending half the season without a team, that same year found himself at Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard FC in the Chinese Super League before, finally, joining the ranks of Extremadura in the Spanish second division.

There, he would barely play 9 games for the Extremadurans before a terrible traffic accident ended his life on June 1, 2019, at just 35 years old.

The accident, which occurred on the road between Seville and Utrera, also claimed the life of his cousin Jonathan Reyes, 23, while others, including another cousin Juan Manuel Calderón, were seriously injured.

According to the final report from the Accident Reconstruction Team (ERAT), there were three factors that led to the tragic deaths.

The first of these was the speed at which the vehicle – a Mercedes-Benz, model S 550 – was traveling. According to the data, it would have been at a minimum of 187 kilometers per hour. The limit on that road was 120 km/h.

The issue of speed was something corroborated by Juan Manuel, Reyes' cousin, who survived the accident. He told the police, his statements published by El Mundo, that: "I don't know what Jose did... I don't remember. (…) It went up into the air... We were flying."

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The second factor was related to one of the rear wheels of the vehicle. According to the experts' report, one of the tires was in poor condition and burst during the accident.

The third factor was that, in the area where the accident occurred and where the vehicle left the road, there were no side safety bars that could have prevented the car from crashing into a concrete structure. The car burst into flames soon after impact.

The Civil Guard also confirmed in its report that José Antonio Reyes was "criminally responsible" for his accident. His recklessness behind the wheel would have amounted to both murder and grievous bodily harm charges should he have survived the accident.

Reyes was happily married to Noelia López and, just that month of June, they were celebrating their second wedding anniversary. The couple said 'I do' in the parish of Virgen de la Consolación in Utrera after eight years together and two engaged and they became parents of two daughters: Noelia and Triana, who were then three years and just a few months old, respectively.

In addition, the Sevillian footballer had another son from his previous relationship with Ana López, a boy named José Antonio and whom Real Madrid incorporated into its youth team after the tragic event from the youth ranks of Leganés.

But Reyes' problems have gone beyond his death. After his death, the former football player's inheritance should have been distributed among his relatives, but this has caused nothing but a host of more problems.

In 2023, four years after saying goodbye to Reyes, his family was facing eviction from their home after the former star player left behind 18 mortgaged properties with an outstanding debt – including one of 430,000 euros (£375,000, $455,000 US) for his family home, according to Antena 3.

In addition to the house where Reyes lived with his wife and children, authorities seized a townhouse and an apartment in Utrera, another in Chipiona, a luxury villa in Madrid, an apartment in Cádiz and seven premises in Bormujos, Seville. A value totaling around 6 million euros, according to El Confidencial.

It marked a sad end to a rich life on and off the pitch. A tragic, reckless death and a host of financial issues that will continue to haunt his grieving family for years to come.

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