Jesus de Miguel: Lionel Messi, Raphinha Join Global Mourning of Tenerife Striker’s Death
Figures from all corners of world soccer paid tribute to the tragic passing of Jesús de Miguel after the Tenerife striker died following an on-field collision this week.
The 30-year-old forward was chasing after a loose ball when he inadvertently collided with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono during a Spanish second-tier match on Monday. De Miguel was rushed to hospital following 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 morning. He was pronounced dead at 8 a.m. local time.
All domestic fixtures across Spain’s professional leagues were postponed until at least Friday, but Tuesday’s Champions League fixtures still went ahead.
Each contest was prefaced with a minute’s silence, while Barcelona opted against any airing of the Champions League theme music. The Catalans’ captain, Raphinha, was particularly moved by the news, neglecting any talk of his two-goal performance in an impressive victory over Aston Villa to focus on De Miguel and his wife and child who have survived him.
“Wherever he is, I hope he finds his way,” Raphinha told Movistar+ postmatch. “I want to send his family strength ... and today, not talk about football.
“After I saw the news, I didn’t feel good. In the end, he was a fellow football player. This could have happened to any of us. It could have happened to me. It’s very difficult to go out and play a game in these circumstances. He was a player who was the same age as me. Maybe that’s why it affected me so much.”
Barcelona’s greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi also paid his respect on social media, writing: “There are no words. My condolences and lots of strength to all his family and friends.” Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé echoed the sentiment: “So much sadness. There are no words.”
Spanish World Cup winner Fabián Ruiz dedicated his first goal in Paris Saint-Germain’s 6–0 thrashing of Villarreal to his late compatriot, forming the striker’s No. 9 shirt—which has since been retired by Tenerife—with his fingers. “First of all, I’d like to offer my condolences to Jesús de Miguel's family and loved ones,” Ruiz reflected. “This victory is dedicated to him, as well as to all the victims of the train crash in Spain during these very difficult times.”
Yet, the most touching tributes came from those who knew De Miguel closely. Manu Sánchez, a fellow professional who played with his long-serving friend at CD Castellón, described the striker a man of “few words, but a great deal of truth. A fierce hunger and a voracious spirit.”
“On the field... he fought to the very end, never looking back.” Manu Sánchez.
“I got married three months ago,” Sánchez added in a letter to De Miguel, “the day before your daughter’s first birthday. Far from making excuses for your absence, you were the first person 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 don’t want to let you out of mine. You will never die, Demigol! I love you from the very bottom of my heart.”
That sense of eternity was echoed in the messages piling up on the shrine outside Tenerife’s home stadium. “Keep scoring goals in the sky,” was one which leaped off the page.
Police Investigation Into Circumstances
It rains so rarely in Tenerife that the downpour which greeted the tragic news of De Miguel’s passing on Tuesday felt poignant. Even the heavens were compelled to shed a tear.
Set to the backdrop of this raw emotion is the emotionless regulation of the legal system. Spanish law dictates that any death from non-natural causes must be investigated under judicial supervision.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife chief prosecutor José Luis Sánchez-Jáuregui told EFE that it would be “very difficult” De Miguel’s death to inspire criminal proceedings as the collision with Owono occurred during the course of a match.
Sánchez-Jáuregui explained that, unless it had been an incident during a stoppage in play, it will be referred to the longstanding Supreme Court jurisprudence which holds that injuries sustained during sporting activity are generally not punishable.
No One to Blame
While he may not be subjected to legal punishment, Andorra goalkeeper Owono who collided with De Miguel is at the mercy of the court of public opinion.
Another player in Spain’s lower leagues with the same last name, Michel Owono, has been forced to decry the waves of racial abuse flowing his way just as a consequence of mistaken identity.
Mina Bonino, the wife of Real Madrid captain Fede Valverde, wrote on social media: “The goalkeeper [Owono] will have to bear the burden of his mistake for the rest of his life. A reckless challenge that cost his opponent his life and may well ruin his own as well, but he is no murderer. It is not our place to judge someone who had no intention of killing. He will serve his punishment and bear the weight of social condemnation that will shape the rest of his life, but we still have time to stop this and prevent another death.”
The most poignant point was, as ever, made by World Cup winning former Real Madrid striker Jorge Valdano, who wrote in El País: “No one, anywhere, is safe from an accident. Perhaps our inability to explain chance drives us to seek out those to blame. We find it difficult to accept that a tragedy of this magnitude might have no one responsible. Let us not look for culprits. In the face of such profound pain, the victim alone is more than enough.”
