CD Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel has died aged 30 after suffering cardiac arrest following an on-field collision with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono in a Spanish second-division match on Monday, 2 November. The club announced his death at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 3 November.
The incident happened in stoppage time, in the seventh minute of added time, with the LaLiga 2 match level at 2-2 at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Owono had raced out of his goal toward midfield to challenge for a long ball when the two players collided near the halfway line, with Owono striking de Miguel in the chest. Owono was shown a straight red card and the match was abandoned.
Cardiac arrest and hospital treatment
De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest, was resuscitated, and was taken to hospital, where he was admitted to intensive care. The club said his condition deteriorated neurologically overnight before his death was announced on Tuesday morning.
A routine investigation, not a finding of guilt
Spain’s National Police have opened an investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter. Under Spanish law, deaths from non-natural causes, including accidents, automatically trigger a judicial investigation. That investigation does not establish criminal responsibility, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife chief prosecutor José Luis Sánchez-Jáuregui told the EFE news agency that criminal proceedings were unlikely, noting that the collision occurred during play.
Nothing in this article blames Owono for the death. Owono ran back to his opponent after seeing the severity of the injury, and later deactivated his Instagram account after abuse online. A different player with the same surname, Michel Owono of sixth-division club Can Vidalet, has denounced racist insults from people mistaking him for the Andorra goalkeeper.
Career and reaction
De Miguel, a Madrid native, began his senior career with Leganés B in 2015. He made his professional debut in 2024 with Castellón, whom he helped back to the second division, and helped Tenerife return to LaLiga 2 this season.
Tenerife’s next two matches, against Granada on 7 November in the league and at Badajoz on 10 November in the Copa del Rey, were set to be postponed after discussions with the Spanish football federation, according to Fox Sports Australia, reporting the club president. That postponement is reported as planned, not confirmed, unless you verify it otherwise during publishing.
Fatal injuries from collisions are rare in football. In September 2025, Spanish goalkeeper Raúl Ramírez, 19, died after suffering head injuries during a fifth-division match, Sportstar reported.
Sources: Associated Press via Bleacher Report — Spanish police investigating; The Hindu (AFP) — Spanish footballer de Miguel dies; CNN — Soccer player Jesús de Miguel dies after on-pitch collision; Sportstar — Police open manslaughter investigation
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jesús de Miguel? A 30-year-old CD Tenerife striker who had helped the club return to Spain’s second division.
Why is there an investigation? Because Spanish law requires a judicial investigation into deaths from non-natural causes, including accidents; it does not by itself imply criminal responsibility.
