Former Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes has died in a car crash, it has been confirmed.
The 35-year-old Spaniard, who was playing for Segunda Division side Extremadura, passed away following the accident on Saturday morning.
Former club Sevilla tweeted: “We couldn’t be confirming worse news. Beloved Sevilla star José Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision. Rest in peace.”
“Everyone at Arsenal is devastated by the shocking news that our former player Jose Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision in Spain,” the club tweeted shortly after.
“Jose Antonio Reyes: 1983-2019. Rest in peace, Jose”
Reyes was the youngest player in Sevilla history to make his debut, making his first appearance for the club at just 16-years-old.
A move to Arsenal would come in the January of 2004 and he went on to win the league as part of the club’s ‘Invincible’ season where they won the Premier League title undefeated.
Stops at Real Madrid on loan, where he won La Liga, and Atletico Madrid, where he won the Europa League twice, came before an emotional return to Sevilla in 2012.
He would go on to win the Europa League three more times at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
He left the club in 2016 and played for Espanyol, Cordoba and Chinese side Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard before returning to Spain to join Extremadura earlier this year.
The second division club said in a statement: “With a broken heart Extremadura UD announce the death of their player Jose Antonio Reyes in a traffic accident.”
Espanyol added: “From RCD Espanyol we wish to express our heartfelt condolences and send all our support to the family and to those at Sevilla.”
