Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport

Arsenal star Dani Ceballos has said “I want to remember him as he was, a happy person, that is how Jose Antonio was” when speaking about former Real Madrid star Jose Antonio Reyes’ death.

Spanish international Ceballos, 23, made the comment during an interview with Spanish newspaper ‘Marca’ where he spoke about the moment he learned about former Sevilla star’s passing.

Ceballos said Reyes, 35, “had a really good relationship with my family, my uncles, my grandfather, they were all good friends with him. He was also a friend of mine.

“I remember the day the tragedy happened, I called my grandfather, my parents and my girlfriend, who were in the street. She told me everybody was in the street with their hands on their head.

“That is where you can see the love that people had for him. Like me, when he had free time he would come to Utrera and let himself be seen. He was loved by everybody.”

Ceballos added Reyes had “his life suddenly taken from him” when he could “finally enjoy his family and his children and everything he had accomplished in football because he did great things.”

Ceballos ended with a loving message for the late-footballer saying: “I want to remember him as he was, a happy person, that is how Jose Antonio was.”

The two footballers have many similarities as they both hail from Utrera, a municipality in southern Spain, and played at club giants Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Ceballos started his professional career at Real Betis while Reyes started at Sevilla. The clubs are city rivals.

Reyes and his cousin Jonathan Reyes, 23, were killed in a car crash on the A-376 motorway near the town of Alcala de Guadaira in southern Spain on 1st June 2019.

His other cousin Juan Manuel Calderon suffered serious burns after trying to save the pair from the vehicle while it was ablaze.

Jose Antonio Reyes was the first Spanish player to win the Premier League with Arsenal, where he was also immortalised as an ‘Invincible’ from their 2003-04 unbeaten season.

He was also a La Liga champion with Real Madrid and a three-time Europa League winner with Sevilla.

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