Diego Antonio Reyes Rosales (; born 19 September 1992) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

club Tigres UANL. He is an

Olympic gold medalist This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...

. Reyes made his professional debut with

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

in April 2010, and won his first league title in 2013. He joined

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

that same year, but spent a majority of his time loaned out to Spanish sides

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

and

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

. At international level, Reyes has played for various national youth teams for Mexico, including the under-20 team which finished third at the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil who claimed their fifth title. At a FIFA ...

. He was also a part of the under-23 squad that won the gold medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, playing in every match. He has represented Mexico at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, as well as the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the 10th and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, as a prelude to the 20 ...

Club career

América

Reyes rose from América's youth academy and was considered one of their young prospects. He debuted for the club on 25 April 2010 at the age of 17 in a league match against

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

at the Estadio Azteca, appearing as a substitute in the 86th minute for Ángel Reyna who scored the game's only goal. Reyes scored his first goal against Estudiantes Tecos during the Clausura 2011 tournament. He would score his second goal against Morelia in a 2–3 quarter-final loss that same tournament. He gradually cemented his spot in the team's starting eleven. Reyes played his final match with América on 26 May 2013, playing in the final of the Clausura tournament against Cruz Azul, though only playing in 26 minutes of the match. Due to the expulsion of

Jesús Molina Jesús Antonio Molina Granados (born 29 March 1988) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career UANL Jesús Molina debuted with Tigres UANL on 24 August 2007 in a 1–2 defeat against Veracruz. ...

, Reyes was moved into the midfield, but was subsequently substituted off for Miguel Layún.

Porto

On 17 December 2012, it was announced Reyes would be transferring to Portuguese club

on 1 July 2013 for a €7 million transfer fee, with half of the €3.5 million transfer fee backed by Gol Football Luxembourg as part of James Rodríguez's repurchase from Gol Football. Reyes made his debut for Porto on 13 July in the final of the Valais Cup against French club Marseille, coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute of the match. Fellow Mexican teammate Héctor Herrera also made his debut with Porto in the same match which ended in a 3–0 victory.

Real Sociedad (loan)

On 14 July 2015, Spanish La Liga club

announced they had reached an agreement with Porto over a season-long loan deal for Reyes, with no option to purchase outright. Reyes made his debut on 22 August in a 0–0 draw against Deportivo de La Coruña. On 18 October, he received his first red card with Real Sociedad in the 0–2 defeat to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, receiving two yellow cards in the span of two minutes for dissent. On 8 February 2016, Reyes scored his first goal for Real Sociedad in the 5–0 away win over RCD Espanyol.

Espanyol (loan)

Diego Antonio Reyes Rosales - Espanyol - WMES

On 31 August 2016, Reyes joined Spanish side Espanyol on a season-long loan deal, with the club having the option to purchase the player at the end of the loan. On 30 October, Reyes scored his first goal for Espanyol in the 0–1 away win over Real Betis.

Fenerbahçe

On 25 August 2018, Reyes joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe on a three-year deal. On 1 September 2018, he would make his debut with the team in 2–3 loss against Kayserispor. On 25 August 2019, Fenerbahçe terminated his contract.

Leganés (loan)

On 31 January 2019, Reyes returned to Spain by joining

CD Leganés Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded on 23 June 1928. It holds home games at ...

on loan for the rest of the season.

Tigres UANL

On 26 August 2019, Reyes returned to Mexico by joining

current champions Tigres UANL on a four-year contract.

International career

Youth

Reyes was selected by coach

José Luis González China José Luis González China (born 3 June 1966) is a Mexican football manager and former defender. He is currently the manager of Coras Tepic in the Ascenso MX. Previously he was the assistant of José Guadalupe Cruz, for Atlante F.C. Early ca ...

to participate in the CONCACAF under-17 Championship in 2009. Mexico eventually qualified to the under-17 World Cup and reached the Round-of-16. In 2010, Reyes played the

Milk Cup SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of ...

with the under-20 team. The following year, Reyes was selected by coach

Juan Carlos Chávez Juan Carlos Chávez Zárate (born 18 January 1967) is a Mexican former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. Career Born in Zamora, Michoacán, Chávez played club football for Atlas, Puebla, M ...

to participate in the CONCACAF under-20 Championship. Mexico qualified to the under-20 World Cup and finished in third place, defeating France 3–1. Prior to the World Cup, Reyes also participated in the Toulon Tournament. Reyes was selected to participate in the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

with the under-23 national team. Mexico won the gold after defeating Argentina 1–0 in the Final. In 2012, Reyes was a part of the under-23 team that won the gold medal at the

2012 Toulon Tournament The 2012 Toulon Tournament was the 40th edition of the Toulon Tournament and took place from 23 May to 1 June. Colombia were the defending champions, but they did not participate this year. Mexico U-23 won their first tournament title by defeat ...

, defeating Turkey 3–1 in the Final. He made the final cut for the squad participating in the

, where he played in every match, including in the 2–1 win over Brazil in the gold medal match at Wembley Stadium on 11 August. At 19 years old, Reyes was the youngest squad member at the Olympics.

Senior

Reyes made his debut with the senior national team at the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

; however, Mexico used their under-22 squad in the tournament. He made his full debut on 25 March 2013 in a 2014 World Cup qualification match against the United States at the Estadio Azteca. Reyes also participated in the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourna ...

, playing his only match in a 2–1 victory against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Reyes captained Mexico for the first time during a friendly match against South Korea on 29 January 2014. He was given the captain's armband after Rafael Márquez was substituted off in the second half in the 4–0 victory. Reyes played against the Netherlands in the

round of 16 match. He entered the match as a substitute for

Héctor Moreno Héctor Alfredo Moreno Herrera (born 17 January 1988) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga MX club Monterrey and the Mexico national team. Moreno ascended the youth ranks of Club Universidad Nacional, makin ...

, who suffered an injury in a slide-tackle with Arjen Robben. In May 2018, Reyes was named in Mexico's

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

for the World Cup, despite being at the time in recovery from a hamstring injury, he was subsequently ruled out of the tournament after not having satisfactory progress.

Style of play

Reyes has been described as "intelligent in his positioning, comfortable in possession and strong in the air", as well as being praised for "his ability to time challenges play crisp passes and keep possession when under pressure". Though mainly a defender, Reyes has also been deployed as a defensive midfielder throughout his career.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.''

Honours

América *

: Clausura 2013 Porto *

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

: 2017–18 Tigres UANL *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Mexico * CONCACAF Cup:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* CONCACAF Gold Cup:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Mexico U23 *

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

* CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Toulon Tournament:

* Olympic Gold Medal:

Individual *

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

Rookie of the Tournament: Clausura 2011

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Diego 1992 births Living people Footballers from Mexico City Mexico international footballers Footballers at the 2011 Pan American Games 2011 Copa América players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Club América footballers FC Porto players FC Porto B players Real Sociedad footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers CD Leganés players Tigres UANL footballers Liga MX players Primeira Liga players La Liga players Association football midfielders Olympic footballers of Mexico Olympic gold medalists for Mexico Olympic medalists in football Mexico youth international footballers Mexico under-20 international footballers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Mexican expatriate footballers Mexican footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Turkey Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Turkey CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in football 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Mexican people