Spanish footballer Jesus de Miguel dies after collision with goalkeeper
Madrid: Spanish footballer Jesus de Miguel died on Tuesday from injuries sustained in a collision with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono during a second-division match, his club CD Tenerife confirmed.
The 30-year-old striker suffered the injury towards the end of Tenerife's match against Andorra at the Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez Stadium. The game was evenly poised at 2-2 when Owono rushed out of his goal to clear the ball and collided with De Miguel in the middle of the pitch.
Owono, an international goalkeeper for Equatorial Guinea, was sent off following the incident. The match was subsequently abandoned.
"Broken with pain, with a lump in our throat and unable to believe this is real, CD Tenerife announces the tragic death, at 8:00 am (7am GMT), of Jesus de Miguel Alameda," Tenerife said in a statement.
"No words can ease the pain, nothing can lessen this great feeling of sadness. Our thoughts are with the family, his close friends and Tenerife fans, who today are grieving over this terrible news."
According to Spanish media reports, De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest following the collision and was resuscitated before being taken to hospital. He was admitted to intensive care, but his condition later deteriorated.
Tenerife had earlier said that the player's condition had "worsened neurologically".
Former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, who is the majority shareholder of FC Andorra, expressed his grief over the footballer's death.
"I am so deeply sorry. Rest in peace, Jesus," Pique wrote on social media.
FC Andorra also issued a condolence message, extending their "most sincere condolences" to De Miguel's family, team-mates and Tenerife.
Several prominent Spanish football clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, also paid tribute to the player. The Spanish football federation (RFEF) expressed its condolences.
"Shattered by this sad news, the Royal Spanish Football Federation wishes to express our deepest sorrow at his passing today," the federation said in a statement.
The RFEF postponed Tuesday's matches in the Copa del Rey and Copa de la Reina, "as a gesture of respect and solidarity".
Real Madrid observed a minute's silence before their training session on Tuesday, while La Liga club Espanyol postponed the presentation of their new coach, Eder Sarabia, to Wednesday.
De Miguel had joined Tenerife in the summer of 2025 from Castellon and had been with the club for just over a season. He played a key role in helping the team secure promotion to the second division.
The forward began his football career in the youth ranks of Leganes in the Madrid suburbs. He subsequently represented several clubs, including Unionistas de Salamanca, before joining Castellon in 2023.