{"id":31964,"date":"2026-04-29T06:30:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T06:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T06:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T06:30:27","slug":"arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal hero&#8217;s heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6887985.jpg?r=1777362075085\" alt=\"Jose Antonio Reyes and Noelia Lopez on their wedding day\" title=\"Jose Antonio Reyes and Noelia Lopez on their wedding day\" width=\"590\" height=\"429\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Former Arsenal star Jose Antonio Reyes married Noelia Lopez in 2017 <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty Images)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Jose Antonio Reyes&#8217; widow previously revealed the last message she received from her husband hours before his shocking death. The Arsenal hero died at the age of 35 in a car crash in June 2019, along with his 23-year-old cousin Jonathan Reyes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The former Gunners star was a key member of the legendary Invincibles team that won the Premier League title in 2004. He was then sold to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid in 2007, where he won the Europa League twice, and his two former clubs will meet in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Off the pitch, Reyes married Noelia L\u00f3pez in 2017 and the couple had two daughters. The Spain international also has a son, Jose Antonio Junior, from a previous relationship, who is currently in Real Madrid&#8217;s youth team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Months after her husband&#8217;s death, Lopez shared a screenshot of the last message she received from him. Still saved in her contacts as &#8216;Papi Amor&#8217;, he had sent her a WhatsApp at 7:43am on the morning of his death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The heartbreaking message, translated from Spanish, read: &#8220;Good morning mom, I love you guys.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Later that year, Lopez also discovered an old Valentine&#8217;s Day note from her partner, in which Reyes had written, &#8220;Happy Valentine&#8217;s Day. I&#8217;ll never forget you from afar.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Express sports on FB! Get all the best sports news and more on our Facebook page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Reyes died along with his cousin Jonathan when his Mercedes Brabus S550 crashed on the A-376 motorway in southern Spain. Another cousin of the soccer player, Juan Manuel Calderon, survived the accident, although he suffered severe burns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Lopez called her husband &#8220;the love of her life&#8221; and gave a heartfelt eulogy just before his funeral in June 2019. &#8220;We will always think of you and you will live forever in our hearts. You have given us the best life and left us with the best memories.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;You will look at me with Noelia&#8217;s eyes and smile with me with Triana&#8217;s smile. I love you and will love you forever.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6887988.jpg?r=1777362079920\" alt=\"Jose Antonio Reyes with Premier League trophy\" title=\"Jose Antonio Reyes with Premier League trophy\" width=\"590\" height=\"418\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Reyes won the Premier League with Arsenal in 2004. <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty Images)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>As a footballer, Reyes began his career with local club Sevilla, where his impressive performances prompted a move to Arsenal midway through an unbeaten season in January 2004, where he made 13 appearances and won a Premier League medal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>He also won the FA Cup in 2005 and appeared in the Champions League final in 2006, making 110 appearances for the club.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>World Cup Legends: The stars of soccer&#8217;s biggest tournament in history &#8211; buy the special edition now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Reyes returned to Spain after joining Real Madrid on loan, where he won La Liga before moving across town to sign a permanent contract with Atl\u00e9tico in 2007. The winger returned to Sevilla in January 2012 and remained with Sevilla until 2016, winning the Europa League three times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Ahead of Arsenal&#8217;s clash with Sevilla in 2023, manager Mikel Arteta fondly recalled the time he spent with his former Spain Under-21 team-mate. &#8220;I have great memories of Reyes. He was my roommate and we spent quite a bit of time together,&#8221; he said of Reyes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;He was a great person with a very special personality, an incredible footballing talent. I can&#8217;t remember a better player at that age. He had it all. He played for[Arsenal and Sevilla]and was part of the Invincibles, so he&#8217;s part of our history in a big way.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2199126\/Arsenal-Jose-Antonio-Reyes-death-wife\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Arsenal star Jose Antonio Reyes married Noelia Lopez in 2017 (Image: Getty Images) Jose Antonio Reyes&#8217; widow previously revealed the last message she received from her husband hours before his shocking death. The Arsenal hero died at the age of 35 in a car crash in June 2019, along with his 23-year-old cousin Jonathan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-31964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Arsenal hero&#039;s heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arsenal hero&#039;s heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Arsenal star Jose Antonio Reyes married Noelia Lopez in 2017 (Image: Getty Images) Jose Antonio Reyes&#8217; widow previously revealed the last message she received from her husband hours before his shocking death. The Arsenal hero died at the age of 35 in a car crash in June 2019, along with his 23-year-old cousin Jonathan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-29T06:30:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6887985.jpg?r=1777362075085\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/\",\"name\":\"Arsenal hero's heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6887987.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T06:30:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6887987.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6887987.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Arsenal hero&#8217;s heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\",\"name\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Arsenal hero's heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Arsenal hero's heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","og_description":"Former Arsenal star Jose Antonio Reyes married Noelia Lopez in 2017 (Image: Getty Images) Jose Antonio Reyes&#8217; widow previously revealed the last message she received from her husband hours before his shocking death. The Arsenal hero died at the age of 35 in a car crash in June 2019, along with his 23-year-old cousin Jonathan","og_url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/","og_site_name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","article_published_time":"2026-04-29T06:30:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6887985.jpg?r=1777362075085","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin_ok9yktt6","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin_ok9yktt6","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/","name":"Arsenal hero's heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6887987.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-29T06:30:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6887987.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6887987.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/arsenal-heros-heartbreaking-text-message-to-wife-before-dying-at-35-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Arsenal hero&#8217;s heartbreaking text message to wife before dying at 35 | Soccer | Sports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/","name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","description":"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9","name":"admin_ok9yktt6","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin_ok9yktt6"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/eplvip.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}