Jesé

Early career

Born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Jesé began his professional footballing career with local team Huracán in 2005, whom he joined from amateur side El Pilar. His form at youth level for the club saw him attract interest from La Liga sides Espanyol, Mallorca and Barcelona, but he elected to sign for Real Madrid's youth system in 2007, aged 14. Jesé made his senior debut with the Real Madrid Castilla side on 16 January 2011 in a 5–0 Segunda División B home win over Universidad de Las Palmas. His performance throughout the match, which included an assist for Dani Carvajal, drew early comparisons to fellow Real Madrid teammate and multiple Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo. Jesé spent most of the season with Real Madrid's Juvenil A team, however, and enjoyed a successful 2010–11 campaign which earned him a permanent promotion to the Castilla side.

2011–13: Youth and entrance to the first team squad

In July 2011, Jesé was selected by first-team manager José Mourinho for the club's pre-season tour of the United States and made his non-competitive debut for Real Madrid in a friendly against Los Angeles Galaxy, coming on as a 64th minute substitute for José Callejón and scoring in a 5–1 win. He returned to the Castilla for the start of the season and scored his first goal on 2 October 2011 against La Roda CF, finishing an assist from Álvaro Morata in a 4–2 away loss. Having impressed with the reserve side during the first half of the season, Jesé was handed his senior debut on 12 December in the first round of the Copa del Rey, replacing Ronaldo for the final 15 minutes of a 2–0 away triumph over SD Ponferradina. After the match Jesé dedicated his debut to his family who had supported him in fulfilling his dream. Jesé made his first La Liga appearance on 24 March 2012, once again replacing Ronaldo for the last ten minutes of a 5–1 home win over Real Sociedad. Aside from his two senior appearances, Jesé made 39 appearances and scored 10 goals for the Castilla as the club was crowned Segunda División B champions. The senior side were also crowned champions of La Liga, having claimed the title with two games to spare in early May.

The following season, after criticism that players from the Castilla were not being given a fair chance, Mourinho stated that it was difficult to do so as the senior side played a different style to the reserves. He also highlighted the position Jesé was being played in as one that did not exist in the main squad. Jesé's lack of opportunity prompted agent Ginés Carvajal to publicly state that they would need to study options for the player's future if he was not permanently promoted to the first team the following year with the guarantee he would receive more playing time. In February 2013, in an interview with Marca, Jesé spoke out against his lack of senior game, stating that he was confident he was doing well enough to be granted an opportunity and, while he tried to learn as much as he could from Mourinho, he was a manager who surrounded himself with players who had already made their name. Club chairman Florentino Pérez and B-side coach Alberto Toril both defended Jesé for his comments, although the latter advised that he should learn to control his emotions.

In spite of his struggles in breaking into the first-team, Jesé continued to excel for the Castilla and on 2 June he broke the record for most goals scored in a single season at the club, netting a solo goal in a 4–0 home win over AD Alcorcón to surpass the record of 21 goals set by Emilio Butragueño in 1983–84. Jesé's success drew praise from several quadrants with the player being described as the jewel in the crown of Los Blancos' academy. He ended the season with 22 goals to his name in 38 appearances, earning the Zarra Trophy for the top Spanish goalscorer in the league, and on 18 June reiterated his desire to stay at Real Madrid in order to fight for a place in the first team.

2013–14: Rising influence in the squad

While at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup with Spain, Jesé was the subject of mass media speculation that he could be leaving Real Madrid following his lack of game-time with the first team the season before. The club's technical director, Miguel Pardeza, categorically stated on 13 July that the player would remain at the club, however, and he extended his contract for a further four years later in the same month, signing a deal worth more than €1 million a year and which contained a €200 million release clause.

Jesé was handed his Champions League debut on 2 October 2013 by new club manager Carlo Ancelotti, coming on as a 81st-minute substitute for Karim Benzema in a 4–0 group stage victory over F.C. Copenhagen. He scored his first competitive goal for Real Madrid in his first El Clásico appearance on 26 October, netting in injury-time from a Ronaldo assist in a 2–1 loss at Barcelona. On 23 November, Jesé came on as a second-half substitute against UD Almería and contributed with his first two assists for the first team in a 5–0 away win. He enjoyed a fine run of form between the back end of 2013 and March 2014, where he netted a late winner at Valencia, scored his first Copa del Rey goal in a 2–0 win over CA Osasuna and netted in league encounters against Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Getafe. On 18 March, however, just two minutes into Real Madrid's Champions League's round-of-16 second leg game against Schalke, Jesé suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee following a challenge from Sead Kolašinac and was sidelined for the remainder of the season.

He ended the season with 5 goals and 4 assists to his name in 18 league appearances, and 8 goals in 31 matches across all competitions as Real Madrid went on to lift the Copa Del Rey and Champions League trophies. Jesé's form throughout the season also saw him named by the Daily Mirror as the tenth most promising young player in Europe.

2014–16: Injury and decline

After spending nine months on the sidelines, Jesé returned from injury for the second leg of Real Madrid's tie against UE Cornellà in the Copa del Rey round of 32 on 2 December 2014, replacing Sami Khedira after 57 minutes and scoring the last goal of a 9–1 aggregate victory. On his injury, Jesé stated: "I had a very tough time, but I think that things in life happen for a reason. Maybe I had the injury because I needed to learn and become a more mature footballer." Later that month he was included in the club's squad which won the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, making a substitute appearance in a 4–0 win over Cruz Azul in the semi-finals. He scored the first of his three La Liga goals for the season on 4 February 2015 in a 2–1 victory over Sevilla. Jesé struggled to break back into the first team following his injury though, starting only 3 of his 23 appearances for the season, and by the end of the campaign it was reported that he had grown frustrated at the club and was looking to leave in the summer.

Jesé ultimately opted to remain in Madrid for the 2015–16 season as he sought to break into the first team under new club manager Rafa Benítez. However, he found competition for places tough and was limited to just 1252 minutes of football across all competitions under Benítez and his successor, Zinedine Zidane. In spite of his lack of game time, Jesé still managed to contribute 6 goals and 8 assists for the season and was a regularly used as back-up in the team's triumphant 2015–16 UEFA Champions League campaign.

It would be ultimately be Jesé's final season at the club as at the end of the season, with one year remaining on his contract, he agreed to sign for reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. He made 63 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid during his ten-year stay at the Santiago Bernabeu, of which 49 were substitute appearances, and scored 13 goals. In total, across all competitions, Jesé amassed 96 appearances and 18 goals for the club, departing with two Champions League titles and one apiece in La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and the Club World Cup to his name.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 8 August 2016, Jesé joined French Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year deal for a reported transfer fee of €25 million. The deal included an 'anti-Barcelona' clause which prevented PSG from selling Jesé to Real Madrid's fierce La Liga rivals Barcelona in the future. He made his debut for the reigning Ligue 1 champions on 13 August, coming on as a substitute for Hatem Ben Arfa in a 1–0 away win over Bastia. Jesé was ruled out for a short period soon thereafter as a result of him suffering from appendicitis. Following his return, Jesé scored his first goal for the club on 19 November, netting from the penalty-spot in a 2–0 win over Nantes. He made his Coupe de la Ligue debut on 14 December and scored the third goal in a 3–1 win over Lille.

Jesé struggled to settle in Paris, however, and by the end of the year he had only started in one of his nine league appearances for the club. His lack of form and infrequent game time prompted manager Unai Emery to suggest that he would be leaving the club during the January transfer window in order to get back to his best.

Loan to Las Palmas

On 31 January 2017, the deadline day for transfers, Jesé signed for Las Palmas on loan until the end of the season, with club chairman Miguel Ángel Ramírez revealing that he had taken a massive pay cut in order to join his hometown club. The next day, Jesé was presented in front of 9,000 fans at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, and pledged to do all he could to help the club qualify for European football. He debuted for the club on 6 February, coming on as a second-half substitute for Vicente Gómez in a 1−0 loss away to Granada and made his first start the following week in an alike loss against Sevilla.

On 1 March, Jesé returned to the Santiago Bernabéu for the first time ahead of Las Palmas' La Liga encounter with Real Madrid. During the build-up to the match, he revealed that he owed a debt to Real Madrid for welcoming him at the club and blamed the cruciate ligament injury he suffered as the reason for him not becoming a star with them. He also defended his previous criticism of former manager José Mourinho, stating that he has no regrets over his actions. Jesé started in the match between the two sides which ultimately ended in a 3–3 draw. He scored his first goals four days later, netting a brace in a 5−2 league win over Osasuna. The result was Jesé's first win with Las Palmas, with the club having not won in its previous five matches following his arrival.

Spain national youth teams

Jesé is a former Spanish youth international, having represented the nation at all levels from the under-16s to the under-21s between 2009 and 2014.

In 2010, he traveled to Liechtenstein with the Spain under-17 side for the 2010 UEFA European Football Championship in which Spain ended as runners-up to England. Jesé scored one goal at the tournament, netting the opener in Spain's 3–1 semi-final win over Turkey. Two years later, Jesé netted five goals during Spain's victorious 2012 European Under-19 Championship campaign in Estonia, including a hat trick against Portugal and the winning goal against Greece in the final. Jesé also received the Golden Boot award for ending as the competition's top goalscorer. The following year, Jesé scored a further five goals and assisted another for the Spanish under-20 team at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. Spain were ultimately eliminated at hands of Uruguay in the quarter-finals but the nation's early exit from the competition did not prevent Jesé from earning the Bronze Boot award for ending as the tournament's third top goalscorer. His form at the tournament drew praise from Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué who claimed he was better than Real Madrid's new world-record signing Gareth Bale was at the same age.

On 6 February 2014, although he was still eligible to play for the under-21s, Spain manager Vicente del Bosque revealed that the Jesé was in his plans ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. However, his chances of attending the tournament were ended in March when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Real Madrid, with Del Bosque describing the situation as "a blow". Due to his eight month spell on the sidelines, Jesé also missed Spain's qualification play-off against Serbia for the 2015 European U-21 Championship. Spain ultimately lost the match 2–1 and thereby also failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Style of play

Jesé is able to play across the front line, operating either as an attacking midfielder, second striker or centre-forward, or in his favoured position out on the wing. During his time at the Castilla, Jesé was often deployed in a false 9 role in the team's 4–3–3 formation, and regularly switched flanks due to his ability to use both feet. In 2013, in his role as the club's sporting director at the time, Zinedine Zidane declared himself an admirer of Jesé's direct style of football and goal scoring ability. Following Jesé's promotion to Real Madrid's first team in 2013, manager Carlo Ancelotti played him in a winger position, often cutting inside from the wing both with the ball and without, to create chances and score goals.

His progression with the senior side often saw him compared to teammate Cristiano Ronaldo due to the similarities in their style as well as Jesé's technicality, close control, pace and dribbling abilities. Jesé welcomed the comparison to Ronaldo and in a 2013 interview with Marca named the Portuguese legend as his favourite player, ahead of the Brazilian duo of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

Career statistics

¹ Includes Copa del Rey and Coupe de la Ligue matches. ² Includes Champions League matches. ³ Includes FIFA Club World Cup matches.

Club

Country

Individual

Personal life

Jesé was born to Pascual Rodríguez, a pharmacy worker, and María Ruiz. When he joined Real Madrid at the age of 14, Jesé made a promise to his father that he would help him retire by pursuing a career in football. The day after he signed his first professional contract with Real Madrid, Jesé's father was able to retire from the pharmacy at which he worked. He has the names of his parents tattooed on the back of his hands and in 2014 bought them a house in Gran Canaria. He became a father for the first time in the summer of 2012 at age 19, and named his son Jesé Jr. The boy lives with his mother, with whom Jesé is no longer in a relationship, in the Canary islands. Jesé has a tattoo with his son's name and date of birth on his right arm.

Aside from football, Jesé is also a musician and formed a Spanish reggae band called Big Flow with close friend DJ Nuno. Together, the pair have released two singles on YouTube.