Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel has died at the age of 30, a day after suffering a cardiac arrest following a collision during a match, the Spanish second-tier club announced on Tuesday.
De Miguel collapsed during the Segunda División game against FC Andorra on Monday after a clash with away goalkeeper Jesús Owono. The match was abandoned seven minutes into stoppage time. Owono had rushed out of his area to clear a long ball and struck the forward in the chest with his knee, and De Miguel lay motionless as players from both teams signalled for medical help.
Medical staff treated De Miguel on the pitch for more than five minutes before he was taken to hospital by ambulance. Owono was shown a straight red card for the challenge.
The club announced his death on Tuesday morning, saying there were no words of comfort that could ease the sadness felt by his family, team-mates and supporters. Andorra said it shared deeply in Tenerife’s sadness and asked for its next fixture, against RCD Mallorca on Sunday, to be postponed.
Spanish police have opened proceedings relating to a possible involuntary manslaughter charge, a National Police source told Reuters. Judicial authorities in the Canary Islands said the inquiry was a routine procedure, because any death deemed non-natural under Spanish law automatically triggers a judicial investigation.
Tributes poured in across Spanish football. The Spanish Football Federation postponed all matches scheduled for Tuesday, including fixtures in the Copa del Rey and the Copa de la Reina, and called off the official presentation for Spain’s Under-21 international against Japan as a mark of respect. UEFA said a period of silence would be observed before all European games this week, with Spanish sides Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Villarreal in Champions League action on Tuesday.
Andorra president Gerard Piqué said he was deeply sorry, while Barcelona and Real Madrid both issued condolences to De Miguel’s family, team-mates and club. Owono, the Equatorial Guinea international, deactivated his Instagram account on Tuesday morning after receiving abuse on social media since the incident.
De Miguel was born in Madrid in 1996 and joined Tenerife from Castellón ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, scoring 11 goals last season. His death has cast a shadow over a week of European football, with clubs across Spain paying tribute to a player whose career was cut short in shocking circumstances.
Note: the featured image is a file photo of the entrance to CD Tenerife’s home stadium, the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, not a photograph of De Miguel or Monday’s match.
Sources: Reuters, “Soccer-Tenerife striker De Miguel dies after collision in match” (https://srnnews.com/soccer-tenerife-striker-de-miguel-dies-after-collision-in-match/).
