Cesc Fàbregas

Technorati Profile

Personal information
Full name	Francesc Fàbregas Soler
Date of birth	May 4, 1987 (1987-05-04) (age 20)
Place of birth	Arenys de Mar, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Centre Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	4
Youth clubs
	FC Barcelona
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003-	Arsenal	112 (11)
National team2
2006-	Spain	018 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:09, 22 September 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 21:59, 23 May 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (IPA: ['sɛsk 'faβɾəɣəs su'ɫeʁ̞]) (born May 4, 1987 in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Arsenal in the English Premier League and for the Spanish national team. Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with FC Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in July 2003. He did not feature much in his first season for the Gunners, but following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, his playing time increased. Before long, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder alongside Gilberto Silva.

Having made the first team at a young age, the teenager went on to break several of the club's records as he began to earn a reputation of a technically-gifted player, excellent passer of the ball and key component of the Arsenal lineup. While Gilberto Silva provides a more defensive presence, Fàbregas functions primarily as a playmaker. In international football, the Spaniard's national career began at the youth level, representing the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship. As a result of his club performances, he was called up the senior squad and played in the 2006 World Cup. In 2006, Fàbregas committed his long-term future to Arsenal and signed an eight-year contract.

Career

Arsenal

Fàbregas started playing his club football at FC Barcelona. During his youth career, he was played mostly as a volante (defensive midfielder), yet he was also a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring more than 30 goals in a season. However, he did not play a first-team game at the Camp Nou. Sensing that he would have limited opportunities at Barcelona if he stayed, he decided to join Arsenal, signing for the London club on 11 September 2003. Initially, he found life difficult in England's capital but soon struck a friendship with team-mate Philippe Senderos, who helped him settle down. As a 16-year-old, Fàbregas did not even think about breaking into the first team but looked up to his seniors Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, while concentrating on training and learning the English language. He made his début not long after, on October 23, 2003, in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherham United. In doing so he became Arsenal's youngest ever first-team player, aged 16 years and 177 days. He then became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal's history in a later round of the League Cup, scoring from close range in a 5–1 victory against Wolves. Although Arsenal went on to win the league unbeaten in the 2003–04 season, Fàbregas was not given a winner's medal because he did not play in a single league game.

Fàbregas takes a shot at goal in a game against Sheffield United in 2006.

It was not until the start of the 2004–05 season that the Spaniard started making first-team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match of the season was against Manchester United in the Community Shield. Following an injury to Vieira, Fàbregas stepped in and made four consecutive Premier League starts. He earned praise for his performances in those games, even claiming a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–0 victory, and becoming Arsenal's youngest ever goalscorer in a league game. With further injuries to Edu and Gilberto Silva, more playing time in all competitions was extended to the teenager. In the UEFA Champions League, he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the competition's history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg in a 5–1 victory. He concluded his season by winning his first honours with Arsenal when he was in the starting eleven that defeated Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup Final.

After the departure of Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas featured regularly in the Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. Inheriting the number 4 jersey from Vieira, he made 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2005–06 season. Despite his young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman. Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus. In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second, at the same time proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like Vieira. He then played in the final against his former club Barcelona, but Arsenal were defeated 1–2, completing a trophyless 2005-06 campaign for Arsenal.

Fàbregas celebrates a goal with his Arsenal team-mates.

Fàbregas' increase in stature drew transfer speculation during the summer; Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term contract with Arsenal, but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers. In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new eight-year deal to the midfielder, which he signed on October 19, 2006. While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.

The 2006–07 season was another learning experience for the young Arsenal squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and was defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup final. However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team, playing in every single league game. He kickstarted Arsenal's UEFA Champions League 2006-07 campaign when he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match. In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest in the league. He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy award, presented by the Italian paper TuttoSport, based on a poll of leading writers across Europe. He was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007. Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. In June 2007, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.

The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife. This was followed by the departure of the club's all-time top goalscorer and captain, Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona, as well as speculation over Wenger's future with the club. Fàbregas knew immediately that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but stated he was ready for the challenge. He started the season well, scoring seven goals and providing six assists in his first nine games of the season, and soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young Spaniard.

Spanish national team

Although he features regularly for the Spain national football team,^[1][36] Fàbregas' international career had already begun at the youth level. At the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland, he finished as top scorer of the tournament despite playing in midfield, and was voted Player of the Tournament. Spain finished runners-up in the tournament to Brazil.

After emerging as one of Arsenal's key players in only his second season at the club, it did not take long for Fàbregas to be called up to the senior squad. Noting his impressive performances in Arsenal's 2006 Champions League campaign, Spain coach Luis Aragones named the teenager in the team for a friendly against the Ivory Coast. In that game, Fàbregas became the youngest player capped for Spain in 70 years. He received good reviews for his début, and was involved in the build-up to Spain's first goal in the 3–2 victory over the Ivorians.

On May 15, 2006, Fàbregas was selected for the Spanish 2006 World Cup squad. During the tournament, he came on as a second-half substitute in Spain's first two group matches, contributing an assist in their 3–1 victory against Tunisia. He then started alongside Spain's reserve players (including then-Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes) in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia. He earned a starting role in Spain's first knockout-stage match against France, in place of Marcos Senna, but Spain lost 3–1. Fàbregas also became the youngest player in Spanish football history to participate in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Luis García after 77 minutes in the 4–0 victory against Ukraine on 13 June 2006; he was then 19 years and 41 days old. He was later nominated for the Gillette Young Player of the World Cup, but Germany's Lukas Podolski won the award.

Style of play

Fàbregas runs up to take a corner kick.

Originally brought to Arsenal as a youth to slowly develop via the League Cup, Fàbregas was unexpectedly deployed as Arsenal's starting central midfielder following injuries to fellow midfielders Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Edu during the 2004–05 season. Fàbregas functions mostly as a playmaker and his main asset is his passing range. As one of the most coveted young talents in the game today, he has been described as being a vital part of Arsenal's first team, bringing vision, creativity and selflessness to Arsenal's intricate passing game, and displaying maturity that belies his age. In set pieces, he is one of the first-choice corner kick and free kick takers in the team.

Fàbregas has stated in interviews that while Vieira served as his role model and mentor, he styles his game after his childhood hero and compatriot Josep Guardiola. In that sense he is of a different mold from his Arsenal predecessors who play in the same position, preferring skill over strength. Initially, this led to criticisms of his lightweight frame and less aggressive style of play, but his statistics have improved over the seasons, and his importance to the team as the main creative force is reflected in his contributing 15 assists in all competitions in the 2006–07 season. By his own admission, scoring was a weaker part of his game in his first few seasons at Arsenal; wasteful finishing also being symptomatic of the larger problem surrounding Arsenal in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In the 2007–08 season however, he scored seven goals in his first nine games and Arsenal manager Wenger claimed that the Spaniard's previous inability to score was down to a mental state. Given his young age, concerns have also been raised over the large number of games Fàbregas has played for club and country in the last few seasons, as burnout may become an issue if he is not adequately rested, but to date the midfielder has yet to sustain any major injuries.

Club career statistics

(correct as of 22 September, 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Arsenal	2003–04	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1	0
	2004–05	33	2	4	6	0	0	5	1	0	43	3	4
	2005–06	35	3	5	1	1	0	13	1	0	49	5	5
	2006–07	38	2	13	6	0	1	10	2	1	54	4	15
	2007–08	6	4	5	0	0	0	3	3	1	9	7	6
Career totals											158	20	30

Career honours

Arsenal

• Winner
  • FA Cup: 2005
  • FA Community Shield: 2004

• Runner-up
  • UEFA Champions League: 2005–06
  • League Cup: 2006–07
  • FA Community Shield: 2005

Spain

• Runner-up
  • 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship

Personal

• UEFA Team of the Year: 2006

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Robin van Persie

Personal information
Date of birth	August 6, 1983 (1983-08-06) (age 24)
Place of birth	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	11
Youth clubs
	Excelsior Rotterdam
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001-2004 2004-	Feyenoord Arsenal	61 (14) 77 (23)
National team2
2005-	Netherlands	22 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 September 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 26 December 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Robin van Persie (born August 6, 1983 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer currently playing at English Premier League team Arsenal as a striker. He can play as a striker (as he normally does for Arsenal) or on either wing, as he primarily does for the Netherlands. He is also a free kick specialist.

Van Persie was brought up in the Kralingen area of east Rotterdam.

Club career

Feyenoord

Robin Van Persie began his career as a youth player for Dutch side Excelsior Rotterdam and later Feyenoord Rotterdam, earning caps in the process for Netherlands U21 and U21 teams. He was called up to Feyenoord's injury plagued first-team squad soon after he signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the club in January 2002. His performances with Feyenoord, including his playing an integral part in the 3-2 UEFA Cup final victory over Borussia Dortmund at the De Kuip on May 8, 2002, earned him the prestigious Best Young Talent award given by the KNVB for the 2001-02 season.

As a result of a back injury suffered during the summer of 2002, there was uncertainty as to whether Van Persie could start the new season. Van Persie, however, showed no such worries come the beginning of the season, scoring 8 goals in 28 league games as well as playing twice in the UEFA Champions League. Despite his talent, Robin Van Persie had a difficult relationship with the Feyenoord manager Bert van Marwijk, a strict disciplinarian, who sent him home on the eve of the European Super Cup against Real Madrid in Monaco.

With Van Persie's Feyenoord contract due to expire in 2005, a disagreement with Bert van Marwijk combined with the fact that the club had not offered him a new contract meant that he spent most of the following season as a fading light at the club.

Arsenal

English club Arsenal, undeterred by a rebuff during the January 2004 transfer window, made a move for the striker at the end of the 2003-04 season. Van Persie also emerged as a target for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen, and Spanish side Sevilla. However Arsenal fended off other club interest and signed van Persie, despite already having signed Spanish striker José Antonio Reyes from Sevilla. Van Persie completed his move for a fee believed to be in the range of £3 million to the Premiership on May 17, 2004. Praised by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger for the strength of his talent and touted as a long-term replacement of Dennis Bergkamp, the young Dutchman made his debut for the team in the 3-1 FA Community Shield victory over Manchester United on August 8, 2004. Early on, he played as a left winger, but subsequently featured as a striker.

Van Persie with Thierry Henry.

He spent most of his time on the bench during earlier parts of the season and looked to have earned himself a permanent place there with his sending off against Southampton which cost Arsenal two points, and caused Wenger to display uncharacteristic anger in public with a player. To his credit, Van Persie redoubled his efforts in training during his suspension and was reintroduced in to the team when injuries to Thierry Henry forced Wenger's hand. His return to the first team has been marked with numerous goals, the pinnacle of his achievements (at that time) coming in the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers where he scored two goals to secure victory for Arsenal. He also scored the vital breakthrough goal against West Bromwich Albion to help Arsenal secure second place in the Premiership after the Albion defence had proved difficult to break down. As a result of his good play he won the The Barclay's Premiership Player of the Month.

Playing for Arsenal

Van Persie scored in the first game of the 2005-06 season and he continued to show good form, winning the prestigious Player of the Month award in November after scoring six goals in just four starts. He signed a contract extension keeping him at the North London club until 2011.

In the early part of the 2006-07 season, against Charlton Athletic, he scored what turned out to be BBC's Goal of the Month, an airborne volley from the edge of the 18-yard box. Arsène Wenger described it as "technically perfect". Another notable contribution was made during a 2-1 loss to Fulham FC. As Arsenal's inconsistent form continued with Fulham taking a shock lead, Robin gave the Gunners a glimmer of hope with a blistering free kick from the better part of 30 yards. These and his international performances for his country earned him the title Rotterdam Sportsman of the year 2006. Shortly after being named Rotterdam sportsman of the year, five goals in four games against Blackburn Rovers, Watford F.C. and Charlton illustrated his importance to Arsenal. Van Persie's season was soon ended by injury however. In a match against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on 21 January 2007, Van Persie came on as a substitute and scored the equaliser in the 84th minute. In doing so, Van Persie fractured his fifth metartarsal in his right foot while celebrating, an injury that kept him out till the end of the season, where he managed to remain as the top scorer for the season with Arsenal.

Following the departure of Arsenal star striker Thierry Henry prior to the 2007-08 season, Van Persie was expected to assume the role as the main striker of the club. He showed good form in the pre-season Emirates Cup, scoring the winning goal in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Internazionale, a goal described by one journalist as "of sublime execution".

International career

Playing for the Netherlands

Robin van Persie received his first full international cap against Romania on 4 June 2005. Despite not being an automatic first choice to start for Arsenal, Van Persie was selected as one of the Netherlands' forwards for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by national coach Marco Van Basten. His first World Cup goal came in the group match against Côte d'Ivoire, a free kick in the 23rd minute.

During the Euro 2008 qualifiers, van Persie made an impact during games against Luxembourg and Belarus. Two goals in either halves and an assist helped the Netherlands claim a 3-0 win. He continued his form in the next two games, scoring against Bulgaria in a 1-1 draw and also in the 2-1 victory against Albania a few days later.

Personal life

Van Persie's mother is a teacher and his father an artist. His father brought him up as a single parent. He grew up in a rough neighbourhood of Rotterdam. He had a series of behavioral problems at school and was often excluded from classes. He is married to Bouchra, a Dutch-Moroccan. They have one child together, a boy named Shaqueel, born on November 16, 2006. They live in Enfield, North London.

During the 2005 close season van Persie was accused of rape by a Dutch-Nigerian beauty queen. Dutch police eventually released van Persie without charge after they completed their investigations.

Honours

Arsenal

• Winner
  • FA Cup 2005
  • FA Community Shield 2004
• Runner-up
  • UEFA Champions League 2006

Club career statistics

(correct as of 21 September, 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Feyenoord	2001-02	8	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	15	-	-
	2002-03	23	9	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	25	9	-
	2003-04	28	6	-	-	-	-	3	0	-	31	6	-
	Total										71	15	-
Arsenal	2004–05	26	5	1	9	4	0	6	1	0	41	10	1
	2005–06	24	5	1	7	4	0	7	2	0	38	11	1
	2006–07	22	11	7	1	0	0	8	2	1	30	13	8
	2007–08	5	2	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	7	3	1
	Total										116	37	11
Career Total											187	52	11

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2005-06-08	Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	0-4	0-4	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
2	2006-06-11	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Côte d'Ivoire	1-0	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup
3	2006-08-16	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Ireland	0-4	0-4	Friendly match
4	2006-09-06	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	Belarus	1-0	3-0	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
5	2006-09-06	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	Belarus	2-0	3-0	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
6	2006-10-07	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1-1	1-1	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
7	2006-06-11	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Albania	1-0	2-1	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying

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José Antonio Reyes

Personal information
Full name	José Antonio Reyes Calderón
Date of birth	September 1, 1983 (1983-09-01) (age 24)
Place of birth	Utrera, Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Winger, Striker
Club information
Current club	Atlético Madrid
Number	17
Youth clubs
1994–1999	Sevilla
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2004 2004–2007 2006–2007 2007–	Sevilla Arsenal → Real Madrid (loan) Atlético Madrid	95 (25) 69 (16) 30 0(6) 00 0(0)
National team2
2003–	Spain	21 0(4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 June 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

José Antonio Reyes Calderón (born September 1, 1983 in Utrera, Seville) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Spanish club Atlético Madrid. He is also a member of the Spanish national team.

Club career

Early career

Born into a Romani family in Utrera, a town south-east of Seville, Reyes joined the youth ranks of Seville club Sevilla FC at the age of 10. His talent was identified, and he represented the club at all youth levels. He finally signed a full contract in 1999 at the age of 15. Reyes made his senior debut a year later as a substitute in a game against Real Zaragoza and was later called up to Spain's under-17 youth national team for the Under-17 European Championships.

Reyes established his reputation as a versatile forward, playing either as a left winger or a support striker. His 22 goals in 86 matches, over four seasons at Sevilla led to other clubs taking notice, but Reyes' popularity with the club's fans made a move to a bigger Spanish club politically difficult for Sevilla FC's club president.

Arsenal

Despite Sevilla manager Joaquín Caparrós wishing to hang onto him, Reyes signed with English club Arsenal F.C. during the January transfer window of the 2003-04 season. The £10.5m fee was negotiated with top ups, depending on the success of Arsenal, which could rise to £17m.

He made his debut on February 1, 2004 in a 2-1 win over Manchester City. Two days later, he scored an own goal against Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup. Later that month, Reyes scored twice against Chelsea to knock them out of the FA Cup. He also scored against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, and his goals in the penultimate two games of the season helped keep Arsenal's unbeaten run in the FA Premier League going.

Hat tricks in friendlies during the summer 2004 showed his improvement and Reyes was a prominent influence on Arsenal's impressive start to the 2004-05 season, in which he managed to score in each of the first six games. However, Reyes struggled during the middle of the season after Arsenal's defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford. His inconsistent performance brought little reward for much of the season, and yet towards the end of it he scored three valuable goals.

In early 2005, he was reported to be homesick while at Arsenal, even though José's parents Mari and Francisco as well as brother Jesús lived with him in England. During a prank call perpetrated by COPE Radio of Spain in February 2005, a prankster claiming to be the president of Spanish club Real Madrid reportedly called Reyes' agent and spoke to Reyes himself about a possible transfer deal. In the ensuing conversation, Reyes allegedly declared that life in London was far from what he had envisioned and he would welcome a move back to his native Spain. Reyes also supposedly said that he wanted out of the club as there were "bad people" at Arsenal.

On May 21, 2005, Reyes became the only second player in history (after Kevin Moran) to be sent off in an FA Cup final, when he was dismissed for a second yellow card.

He temporarily ended speculation about a move away from Highbury in July 2005, when he signed a new six-year contract and declared that he was "looking forward to having many more successful years at the club."

In Arsenal's 2005-06 UEFA Champions League run, Reyes featured heavily against, among others, Real Madrid, Juventus F.C. and Villarreal CF, in the most impressive Champions League results for Arsenal to date. He came on as a substitute in the May 17, 2006 final against Spanish champions F.C. Barcelona, which Arsenal lost 2-1. However, in August 2006 he expressed a desire not to play in Arsenal's 2006-07 Champions League qualifying match against Dynamo Zagreb - to do so would render him 'cup-tied' and complicate a move to Real Madrid. Wenger left him out of the team, thus fuelling speculation that a transfer was soon to be agreed.

Reyes was linked to Real Madrid along with Arsenal teammate Cesc Fàbregas in the summer of 2006, when the candidate Arturo Baldasano of the then on-going Real Madrid presidential campaign claimed he would sign them, if elected. Reyes further hinted towards a transfer to Real Madrid. 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 Arsène Wenger, who reacted angrily to Real Madrid's attempts to unsettle his player, suggesting that it was not the first time Real Madrid had used the media and agents in Spain as a destabilising tactic. Shortly before the closure of the 2006 summer transfer window, Madrid and Arsenal agreed to exchange Reyes for Brazilian international Júlio Baptista, each on a season-long loan deal.

Reyes scored his first goal for Real Madrid on September 17, 2006 with a free kick against Real Sociedad.

On the final day of the 2006-07 season, the focus was on David Beckham in his final match for Real but Reyes, in the final game of his loan spell, came on as a substitute for the injured Beckham, scoring with his first touch and again later on. Real came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1, claiming the La Liga title. It had been rumoured that he may leave for Olympique Lyonnais.

Real Madrid appointed former Getafe coach Bernd Schuster on July 8, 2007 increasing the chances that Reyes would sign a permanent deal and stay in Spain.

Atletico Madrid

However, reports surfacing on July 29 indicated that Madrid rivals Atletico Madrid were on the verge of landing the player. Later that day, Wenger confirmed that Reyes's departure was imminent, and that a more specific announcement would be made "shortly".

On July 30, Reyes passed his medical. He was unveiled on July 31 as an Atletico player for the next four years. It is believed Arsenal will receive €12m (£8.1m) for the transfer. Reyes made his debut for Atlético in a match against Lazio Roma, in which he scored a goal and made an assist in a 3-1 victory in the annual Amsterdam Tournament. Reyes has had previous success in this pre-season tournament, being named player of the tournament in the 2004 Amsterdam Tournament while playing for Arsenal. Ironically, Arsenal were winners of the 2007 Amsterdam Tournament.

International career

Reyes earned his first full cap in September 2003 against Portugal. However, he was left out of Iñaki Sáez's 2004 European Championship squad. Although Reyes has been picked consistently in national team squads, he has only 20 caps and 4 goals. He is not a regular starter, due to current national team coach Luis Aragonés' preference to play Fernando Torres, David Villa, and Luis García up front. Most recently, Reyes played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup game against Saudi Arabia.

Club career statistics

(correct as of 13 July 2006)

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sevilla FC	1999-00	1	0	?	-	-	-	-	1	0
	2000-01	1	0	?	1	0	-	-	2	0
	2001-02	29	8	?	1	0	-	-	30	8
	2002-03	34	9	?	3?	2?	-	-	37?	11?
	2003-04	21	5	?	4	1	-	-	25	6
	Total	86	22	?	9?	3?	-	-	95?	25?
Arsenal FC	2003-04	13	2	1	4	2	4	1	21	5
	2004-05	30	9	10	7	2	8	1	45	12
	2005-06	26	5	10	6	1	12	0	44	6
	Total	69	16	21	17	5	24	2	110	23
Real Madrid	2006-07	30	6	2	2	0	4	1	36	7
	Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Career total		155	38	23?	26?	8?	24	2	205?	48?

Honours

Sevilla

• Segunda División 2000-01

Arsenal

• FA Premier League 2003-04
• FA Cup 2005
• UEFA Champions League runner-up 2005-06

Real Madrid

• La Liga 2006-2007

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