Football comes together across Spain to honour Jesús de Miguel: 'We've seen how fragile life is'

Spanish football united this weekend to honour Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel, 30, who died after a pitch collision; matches went ahead despite calls for postponement.

Jesús de Miguel, a 30-year-old Tenerife striker, died five days earlier after a collision during a match. This weekend, La Liga and Spanish football paid tribute across multiple fixtures.

Osasuna and Athletic Club played together in white shirts bearing De Miguel's name and number 9, carrying white lilies onto the pitch. At the same time, Tenerife's squad gathered at their home ground in Santa Cruz for a public memorial, having attended De Miguel's funeral in Navahermosa two days earlier.

Captain Enric Gallego spoke of the fragility of life: "We think of the journeys, the wins, the losses, and hold on to those moments that seemed normal, but that now … a few days ago we shared that with you."

Before Osasuna's match, captain Ante Budimir addressed his teammates, reminding them that De Miguel was not chosen for this fate, nor were they: "Let us go knowing that we're grateful to be on the pitch."

The players' union had requested the competition stop out of respect and asked a judge to intervene, but only matches involving Tenerife, Andorra (whose goalkeeper Jesús Owono was involved in the collision) and Castellón were postponed. Sevilla coach Luis García had urged reflection and time, but the fixtures proceeded.