Jesús de Miguel, Tenerife striker, dies at 30 after on-pitch collision
Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel has died at the age of 30, after a collision with a goalkeeper during a match in Spain's second tier on Monday.
The crash happened in the final minutes of Tenerife's game against FC Andorra. The two sides were level at 2-2 when, seven minutes into stoppage time (the extra minutes added at the end of a half or match), De Miguel and goalkeeper Jesus Owono collided. De Miguel suffered head and chest injuries. The referee sent Owono off with a straight red card and abandoned the match.
De Miguel was taken to the intensive care unit of the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. CD Tenerife said his condition was stable but serious on Monday. It worsened on Tuesday morning, and the club announced that he had died early that day. ABC reported that he died after suffering cardiac arrest.
Police in Spain have opened an investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter, a charge for causing a death without intending to. Reuters reported the investigation on Tuesday. Santa Cruz de Tenerife's chief prosecutor, Jose Luis Sanchez-Jauregui, told the news agency EFE that criminal proceedings over the death were "very unlikely".
De Miguel was born in September 1996. He joined Tenerife from Castellón in the summer of 2025 and helped the club win promotion to the second division. His full name was Jesús de Miguel Alameda.
Football around Europe paused to remember him. A minute's silence was held before Tuesday evening's Champions League matches. The same tribute will be repeated before Wednesday's Champions League fixtures, and at every Europa League and Conference League match this week.
Tenerife have declared six official days of mourning, and all club activity has been suspended. De Miguel's funeral will take place in Navahermosa, in the province of Toledo. Players, staff and officials from Tenerife will attend.
The club will also hold a tribute at its home ground, the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, on Saturday 7 November from 18:00. Supporters can come to the stadium that evening to say goodbye. For a club that gave him his place in the league, it is a chance for fans to stand together one more time.
Football has a habit of bringing strangers into the same moment, through a goal, a chant or a late winner. This week the game is doing the quieter thing. Across Europe, thousands of people will stand in silence for a player most of them never saw play.
