• After a four-year spell at Sevilla, 20-year-old Jose Antonio Reyes joined Arsenal, managed by Arsene Wenger, on January 30, 2004. John Stillwell / PA Wire
    After a four-year spell at Sevilla, 20-year-old Jose Antonio Reyes joined Arsenal, managed by Arsene Wenger, on January 30, 2004. John Stillwell / PA Wire
  • Reyes, in action on April 25, 2005, spent three years at the Premier League club, scoring 16 goals in 69 appearances. Sean Dempsey / PA Wire
    Reyes, in action on April 25, 2005, spent three years at the Premier League club, scoring 16 goals in 69 appearances. Sean Dempsey / PA Wire
  • Seen with Dennis Bergkamp, Reyes helped Arsenal win the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield titles. Action Images
    Seen with Dennis Bergkamp, Reyes helped Arsenal win the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield titles. Action Images
  • Reyes joined Atletico Madrid in 2007 after spending a year at derby rivals Real Madrid whom he had been loaned to by Arsenal. Reyes, in action on May 12, 2010, he won two Europa League titles, one Super Cup and one Intertoto Cup. Dave Thompson / PA Wire
    Reyes joined Atletico Madrid in 2007 after spending a year at derby rivals Real Madrid whom he had been loaned to by Arsenal. Reyes, in action on May 12, 2010, he won two Europa League titles, one Super Cup and one Intertoto Cup. Dave Thompson / PA Wire
  • Reyes returned to Sevilla, the Primera Liga club where he started his professional career, to spend four more years. Cristina Quicler / AFP
    Reyes returned to Sevilla, the Primera Liga club where he started his professional career, to spend four more years. Cristina Quicler / AFP
  • The winger scored nine times in 109 appearances for the Seville club. Carl Recine/File Photo
    The winger scored nine times in 109 appearances for the Seville club. Carl Recine/File Photo
  • While in Sevilla, Reyes clinched three Europa Leagues on the bounce. Carl Recine / Reuters
    While in Sevilla, Reyes clinched three Europa Leagues on the bounce. Carl Recine / Reuters
  • In the process, Reyes became the first, and yet only, player to win five Europa League titles. Adam Davy / PA Wire
    In the process, Reyes became the first, and yet only, player to win five Europa League titles. Adam Davy / PA Wire
  • Among other titles Reyes won, helped Real Madrid clinch the Primera Liga title in 2006/07 and led Benfica to the Portuguese League Cup in 2008/09. Javier Soriano / AFP
    Among other titles Reyes won, helped Real Madrid clinch the Primera Liga title in 2006/07 and led Benfica to the Portuguese League Cup in 2008/09. Javier Soriano / AFP
  • Reyes came to be known as a journeyman as he also represented Espanyol, Cordoba, China's Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard and Extremadura in Spain. All in all, he scored 73 times in 516 club appearances. Andreu Dalmau / EPA
    Reyes came to be known as a journeyman as he also represented Espanyol, Cordoba, China's Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard and Extremadura in Spain. All in all, he scored 73 times in 516 club appearances. Andreu Dalmau / EPA

Jose Antonio Reyes: Former Arsenal and Sevilla winger dies in car crash


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Footballer Jose Reyes has been killed in a car accident, his former club Sevilla have confirmed.

The 35-year-old won the Premier League title with Arsenal, and was capped 21 times by Spain, during a successful playing career that saw him have two spells with Sevilla and also play for both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

He had last played in La Liga in 2017 and played this season in Spain's second domestic tier with Extremadura UD.

He was part of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' side in 2003/04, and also won the Europa League with both Atletico and Sevilla.

Sevilla's Twitter account said: "We could not offer worse news. Our beloved squad member Jose Antonio Reyes died in a traffic accident. Rest in peace."

The emergency services in Andalusia and the authorities in the player's home town, Utrera, said Reyes died in an accident on the main road from Sevilla to Utrera. They said another member of his family also died and a third person was injured.

Spain captain Sergio Ramos, who is also from the province of Seville, came through the youth team just after Reyes and later played with him at Real Madrid also tweeted his grief.

"Broken. Shattered," wrote Ramos. "I have no words. All the affection for the family. We will always remember you, my friend! RIP brother."

Reyes won a European Under 21 title with Spain in 2002 and went on to play 21 times for Spain between 2003 and 2006, scoring four goals.

He won Premier League and FA Cup medals at Arsenal and came on as a late substitute when the Gunners lost the 2006 Uefa Champions League final to Barcelona.

He helped Sevilla win the Spanish second division in his first stint at the club. He won the Europa League five times, twice with Atletico Madrid and three times in his second spell at Sevilla.

He also won domestic league titles with Real Madrid and Benfica.

After leaving Sevilla in 2016, Reyes played for Espanyol, Cordoba and Xinjian Tianshan in China, before arriving at Extremadura this year as a free agent.

"With broken hearts we announce the news of our player Jose Antonio Reyes' death in a car crash and we ask for you to pray for his soul," Extremadura said.

Monchi, who overlapped with Reyes as a player at Sevilla and is now the club's director of football, also tweeted his sadness and referred to wingback Antonio Puerta, who died of a cardiac arrest playing for Sevilla in 2007.

"Impossible news to believe, impossible to digest, that hard my God," Monchi wrote . "What a left flank you are going to make, Antonio and you, up there."