Sevilla Born in
Utrera,
Province of Seville to
Romani parents, Reyes joined the youth ranks of local
Sevilla at the age of ten, and went on to represent the club at all youth levels. Reyes finally signed a full contract in 1999, making his first-team debut during the
1999–2000 season at the age of 16, against
Real Zaragoza. He was later called up to
Spain's squad for the
UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where he scored one goal in the group stage. With the
Andalusians now in
Segunda División, Reyes added another appearance. After
they were promoted, he established his reputation as a versatile attacking unit in the following years, his 21
La Liga goals over four seasons leading to other teams taking notice.
Arsenal Despite Sevilla manager
Joaquín Caparrós's wishes to retain him, Reyes signed with English side
Arsenal during the January
transfer window of the
2003–04 campaign. and two days later he scored an
own goal against
Middlesbrough in the
Football League Cup. Later that month, he netted twice against
Chelsea to
knock them out of the
FA Cup; he also scored against the latter opponent in
the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Champions League, and his goals in the penultimate two games helped Arsenal accomplish their
unbeaten season in the
Premier League.
Hat-tricks in
friendlies during summer 2004 showed Reyes' improvement, and he was a prominent influence on his team's impressive start to
2004–05, in which he managed to score in each of the first six matches. He was named as the
Premier League Player of the Month for
August 2004; however, he struggled midway through the season and performed inconsistently overall. In early 2005, Reyes was reported to be
homesick while at Arsenal, even though his parents, Mari and Francisco, as well as brother Jesús lived with him in England. In the ensuing conversation, the latter allegedly declared that life in London was far from what he had envisioned and he would welcome a move back to his country; he also supposedly said that he wanted out of the club as there were "bad people" at Arsenal. He temporarily ended speculation about a move away from
Highbury in July, when he signed a new six-year contract and declared that he was "looking forward to having many more successful years at the club." Reyes featured heavily in the Gunners'
2005–06 Champions League run, against, among others, Real Madrid,
Juventus and
Villarreal, coming on as a
substitute in
the final against
Barcelona, which Arsenal lost 2–1. However, in August 2006, he expressed a desire not to play in the club's
Champions League qualifying match against
Dinamo Zagreb – to do so would render him '
cup-tied' and complicate a move to Real Madrid; manager
Arsène Wenger left him out of the side, thus fuelling speculation that a transfer was soon to be agreed.
Loan to Real Madrid Reyes was linked to Real Madrid along with Arsenal teammate
Cesc Fàbregas in the summer of 2006, when presidential candidate Arturo Baldasano claimed he would sign both if elected. After making two official statements on Arsenal's website denying media reports of being unhappy, alleged quotes from Reyes in the Spanish press contradicted his denials. This tested the patience of Wenger, who reacted angrily to Real Madrid's attempts to unsettle his player, suggesting that it was not the first time that club had used the media and agents in Spain as a destabilising tactic; shortly before the closure of the
transfer window, the teams agreed to exchange him for
Brazilian international
Júlio Baptista, each on a season-long loan deal. Reyes scored his first goal for Real on 17 September 2006, with a
free kick against
Real Sociedad, in a 2–0 home win. On the final day of
the season, the focus was on soon-to-be-departed
David Beckham and
Roberto Carlos, but Reyes, brought from the bench for injured Beckham, netted twice as Real came from behind to beat
Mallorca and claim yet another league title. Real Madrid appointed former
Getafe coach
Bernd Schuster on 8 July 2007, increasing the chances that Reyes would sign a permanent deal and stay in Spain.
Atlético Madrid in 2011 Reports surfacing on 29 July 2007 indicated that cross-town rivals
Atlético Madrid were on the verge of landing Reyes. Later that day, Wenger confirmed that the player's departure was imminent, and that a more specific announcement would be made shortly. The following day, he passed his medical and penned a four-year deal reportedly worth €12 million, scoring and
assisting once on his debut for a
3–1 defeat of
Lazio in the annual
Amsterdam Tournament (while at Arsenal, he was named the tournament's MVP in its
2004 edition); his
first campaign with the
Colchoneros was disastrous, as he was often kept out of the side by
Maxi Rodríguez and
Simão Sabrosa and failed to score a single goal in 26 league appearances. On 7 August 2008,
Benfica announced the signing of Reyes on a one-year loan – the Portuguese also bought 25% of his playing rights for a fee of €2.65 million, and ensured a buying option of the remainder 75% for an undisclosed fee. His first goal for the
Lisbon club was scored against city rivals
Sporting CP, on 27 September: after an understanding between Reyes and
Pablo Aimar and a pass from the same, he scored in fashion. Later in the same week he found the net again, against
Napoli, helping to a 2–0 home victory in the
first round of the
UEFA Cup. Reyes' return to Atlético proved to be much more successful, as he re-united with
Quique Sánchez Flores, his manager at Benfica from the previous season. He scored his first official goal in Spain in more than two years on 9 January 2010, with a long-range effort at
Real Valladolid, in a 4–0 win– by then, he had beaten the competition of Maxi and started in the wings alongside Simão. On 14 February 2010 he put in a
Player of the match performance in Atlético's 2–1 victory against Barcelona, setting up the opening goal for
Diego Forlán in the eventual champions' only league defeat of
the season. Four days later, in the
Europa League 1–1 home draw with
Galatasaray, he scored a stunning free kick from the right wing on the 22nd minute, after he was brought down just outside the box (3–2 aggregate win). On 28 March, he curled in a left-footed shot from the right wing just inside the box, opening the score in the
Madrid derby against his former team in an eventual 3–2 loss. On 27 August 2010, Reyes opened the
2–0 win over
Inter Milan in the
UEFA Super Cup after a
one-two combination with Argentine
Sergio Agüero. His first league goal of
the campaign came in a 4–1 defeat at
Hércules on 10 January 2011, which inspired an impressive run of scoring form, with goals in successive home games in February/March, against
Valencia, former club Sevilla and Villarreal. Reyes took up more responsibility for
2011–12, and established himself as one of the team's most important players. On 28 July 2011, he scored twice for Atlético in a
2–1 Europa League win against
Strømsgodset. A week later, in the second leg, he was again on the scoresheet and also got an assist for
Adrián López in a 2–0 away victory; he struggled to find the consistency he had under Flores and, following a fallout with new coach
Gregorio Manzano after being substituted in a 3–0 defeat at
Athletic Bilbao, his playing time became more and more limited.
Return to Sevilla in 2012 On 5 January 2012, Sevilla confirmed the signing of Reyes, who agreed to a contract until June 2015. He played his first game three days later, starting in a 2–1 away loss against
Rayo Vallecano, and scored his only goal of
the season on 5 May, in a 5–2 win in the reverse fixture. His first goals of
the following campaign came on 18 November 2012, through a first-half brace in a 5–2
Seville derby rout of
Real Betis – the opening goal came after eleven seconds. Reyes scored two goals in 12 Europa League matches as Sevilla won the tournament in
2013–14, including one in the second leg of their last-16 win over city rivals Betis. On 27 May 2015, in
the final of
the following season's tournament, reportedly his final game for the club, he
captained and assisted
Carlos Bacca's first of two goals as the team came from behind to defeat
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3–2 in
Warsaw. However, he remained, starting as skipper in the
ensuing Super Cup against Barcelona in
Tbilisi and scoring once his side came from 4–1 down to take the game to extra time, but lose nonetheless. Reyes netted twice as Sevilla
advanced to
the final of the
Copa del Rey, including once in a 4–0 home win over Betis for the
round of 16. He missed the final weeks of
competition after undergoing surgery to his appendix, and on 1 June 2016 it was announced the 32-year-old would be released upon the expiration of his contract.
Espanyol On 28 June 2016, Reyes joined
Espanyol on a two-year deal, reuniting with Flores. He made his debut on 20 August, featuring 21 minutes in a 4–6 loss away to his previous team on the opening day of
the season. Reyes scored his first goal for the
Pericos on 29 November 2016 in another cameo from the bench, to assure a 1–1 draw at
Alcorcón in the first leg of the domestic cup's
last-32 stage. On 21 January 2017, this time as a starter, he opened his league account in a 3–1 win over
Granada at the
RCDE Stadium. In June 2017, Reyes left the club at the expiry of his contract.
Later career On 30 January 2018, 34-year-old Reyes signed for second division side
Córdoba. Four months later, he joined
Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard from the
China League One on a
free transfer. Reyes returned to Spain and its second tier in January 2019, rejoining former Sevilla teammate
Diego Capel at
Extremadura and agreeing to a five-month deal. ==International career==