Jose Antonio Reyes leaves legacy of success borne out of Sevilla passion
Sevilla confirmed on Saturday the death of Jose Antonio Reyes, one of their most beloved icons.
Jose Antonio Reyes will be remembered as a Sevilla great who ignored the easy choices to leave a legacy of success and love.
The Spain international's boyhood club Sevilla announced on Saturday that the winger had died at the age of 35 following a traffic collision.
"We couldn't be confirming worse news," they wrote, as the reality of the club losing one of its most famous and beloved sons set in.
Across a successful 20-year career that began in the modest surroundings of Sevilla's reserves, Reyes made 686 appearances in club football, taking him from Spain to England, Portugal and China.
A combination of reported homesickness and inconsistency resulted in a loan to Real Madrid. An otherwise forgettable spell ended with Reyes crucially scoring twice against Real Mallorca to secure the title.
Atletico Madrid brought him back to Spain permanently, though initially Reyes struggled at the Vicente Calderon, where supporters refused to forget his time across the city.
After no goals in 37 appearances, Atletico sent Reyes on loan to Quique Sanchez Flores' Benfica for the 2008-09 campaign, and the following season they reunited in Madrid, where they won the Europa League.
When his Atletico career petered out, Reyes' time at the top appeared over. MLS, Turkey or the Middle East looked the easy choices for his next move. Instead, Sevilla reinvigorated him.
There was an air of 'what might've been' upon his return in January 2012. Reyes had missed the most successful period in his beloved club's history. Such a golden era would surely never be experienced again in Nervion.
But Reyes got the Sevilla success he dreamed of, winning three straight Europa League titles to take his personal tally to five.