José Antonio Reyes López (born 15 October 2007) is a Spanish 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 lea ...

currently playing as a forward for

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

's youth side.

Early life

Reyes López was born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to former Spanish international footballer

José Antonio Reyes José Antonio Reyes Calderón (; 1 September 1983 – 1 June 2019) was a Spanish professional footballer who played mainly as a left winger and also as a forward. He made his debut for Sevilla aged 16 and signed for English club Arsenal in J ...

Club career

Reyes López began his footballing career with Legamar, spending four years before a stint in the

Leganés Leganés () is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Considered part of the Madrid metropolitan area, it is located about 11 km southwest of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 188,425, making it the region's fifth most popu ...

academy. While at Leganés, Reyes López agreed a deal to join

, the club his father had played for, on loan from English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, in the 2006–07 season. After the death of his father on 1 June 2019, shortly before his transfer was set to go through, it was reported that Real Madrid club president,

Florentino Pérez Florentino Pérez Rodríguez (; born 8 March 1947) is a Spanish businessman and the president of football club Real Madrid, as well as chairman and CEO of Grupo ACS, a civil engineering company. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest club ...

, had told

El Chiringuito de Jugones ''El chiringuito de Jugones'' (English: ''The Players' Beach Bar'') is a Spanish television program of football debate in which the current affairs of the main teams of the Spanish league are discussed, essentially FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C ...

sportscaster Cristobal Soria that he would personally look after Reyes López until he was eighteen years old. He played his last matches for Leganés' youth team at the tournament in June 2019. On his league debut for Real Madrid's 'Juvenil B' team, Reyes López scored a goal, raising his arms to the sky in a celebration dedicated to his father. Later in the same season, the Juvenil B team won the La Liga Promises tournament, with Reyes López scoring four goals in the final against

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

. He was awarded the golden boot, as well as the 'Most Valuable Player' award for the tournament, having scored nine goals in just six games. In June 2020, Reyes López joined the ''Lifepro'' football agency, run by former Real Madrid player

Marcelo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus (name), Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name *Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile *Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chile ...

. For the 2021–22 season, Reyes López was promoted to Real Madrid's 'Cadet A' side, playing in the side managed by

Álvaro Arbeloa Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (; born 17 January 1983) is a Spanish former footballer, currently manager of Real Madrid Castilla. He predominantly played as a right-back, and occasionally on the left side. He started his professional career with Real Ma ...

with players a year above him. He signed a contract extension in March 2022.

International career

Reyes López was called up to the Spain under-15 side for the first time in November 2021, replacing

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

player Álvaro Muñoz in the squad ahead of the Albin Garden tournament. He has since gone on to also represent the nation at under-16 and under-17 level.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes López, José 2007 births Living people Footballers from Madrid Spanish men's footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards CD Leganés players Real Madrid CF players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen