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Football figures from around the globe mourned the heartbreaking death of Jesús de Miguel after the Tenerife forward passed away following an on-pitch collision earlier this week.
The 30-year-old striker was pursuing a loose ball when he accidentally collided with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono during a Spanish second-division fixture on Monday. De Miguel was immediately taken to hospital after suffering a blow to his chest and head, with a club statement later confirming that his condition had "worsened neurologically" in the early hours of Tuesday. He was declared dead at 8 a.m. local time.
All scheduled matches across Spain's professional football divisions were postponed until at least Friday, though Tuesday's Champions League games still proceeded as planned.
Each match was preceded by a minute's silence, while Barcelona chose not to play the Champions League anthem. The Catalans' skipper, Raphinha, was visibly affected by the news, setting aside discussion of his brace in an emphatic win over Aston Villa to speak about De Miguel and the wife and child he left behind.
"Wherever he is now, I hope he finds peace," Raphinha told Movistar+ after the match. "I want to send strength to his family ... and today, I don't want to talk about football.
"When I heard the news, I was devastated. At the end of the day, he was a fellow footballer. This could have happened to any one of us. It could have happened to me. It's incredibly hard to go out and play under these circumstances. He was a player the same age as me. Perhaps that's why it hit me so hard."
Barcelona's all-time greatest, Lionel Messi, also paid his respects on social media, writing: "There are no words. My condolences and all the strength in the world to his family and friends." Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé shared a similar sentiment: "So much sadness. There are no words."
Spanish World Cup winner Fabián Ruiz dedicated his opening goal in Paris Saint-Germain's 6–0 demolition of Villarreal to his late compatriot, holding up the striker's No. 9 shirt number—which Tenerife have since retired—with his fingers. "First and foremost, I want to offer my condolences to Jesús de Miguel's family and loved ones," Ruiz said. "This win is dedicated to him, as well as to all the victims of the train disaster in Spain during these incredibly painful times."
Yet the most heartfelt tributes came from those who knew De Miguel personally. Manu Sánchez, a fellow professional who played alongside his longtime friend at CD Castellón, described the striker as a man of "few words, but great sincerity. A fierce hunger and an unstoppable spirit."
"I got married three months ago," Sánchez wrote in an open letter to De Miguel, "the day before your daughter's first birthday. Far from making excuses for your absence, you were the first face I saw on my way to the altar, standing there with your beautiful wife. I feel as though you let me into your world, and I refuse to let you out of mine. You will never die, Demigol! I love you with all my heart."
That sense of immortality was reflected in the messages accumulating at the memorial outside Tenerife's home ground. "Keep scoring goals up in the sky," was one that stood out above the rest.
Police Investigation Into Circumstances
Siempre en nuestros corazones.
🖤 DEP pic.twitter.com/a8uq1NcXTR
Rain is a rare occurrence in Tenerife, making the downpour that greeted the devastating news of De Miguel's passing on Tuesday feel all the more significant. Even the skies seemed compelled to weep.
Against the backdrop of this raw grief lies the cold machinery of the legal system. Spanish law requires that any death resulting from non-natural causes be investigated under judicial oversight.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife chief prosecutor José Luis Sánchez-Jáuregui told EFE that it would be "very difficult" for De Miguel's death to lead to criminal proceedings, given that the collision with Owono took place during the course of a live match.
Sánchez-Jáuregui explained that, unless the incident had occurred during a stoppage in play, it would fall under longstanding Supreme Court jurisprudence, which holds that injuries sustained during sporting activity are generally not subject to criminal punishment.
No One to Blame
While he may face no legal consequences, Andorra goalkeeper Owono, who was involved in the collision with De Miguel, remains vulnerable to the judgment of public opinion.
Another player in Spain's lower divisions sharing the same surname, Michel Owono, has been forced to speak out against a torrent of racial abuse directed at him purely due to a case of mistaken identity.
Mina Bonino, wife of Real Madrid captain Fede Valverde, wrote on social media: "The goalkeeper [Owono] will carry the weight of this for the rest of his life. A reckless challenge that cost his opponent his life and may well destroy his own, but he is not a murderer. It is not our place to judge someone who had no intention of causing harm. He will live with his punishment and the burden of social condemnation for the rest of his days, but we still have the chance to stop this and prevent yet another tragedy."
The most profound observation came, as so often, from World Cup-winning former Real Madrid striker Jorge Valdano, who wrote in El País: "No one, anywhere, is immune to an accident. Perhaps our inability to make sense of chance compels us to search for someone to blame. We struggle to accept that a tragedy of this scale might have no one responsible. Let us not seek out culprits. In the face of such immense pain, the victim alone is more than enough."