A major tragedy in Spanish football

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has voiced his deep sorrow at the death of Jesus de Miguel, the 30-year-old Tenerife striker, calling the incident shocking and deeply affecting.

According to Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", Laporta offered condolences on behalf of the Catalan club a day after the player suffered a heart attack during the match against Andorra in the Spanish second division.

Normally Laporta uses these lunches to talk up the strength of the game ahead or to fire provocative messages at Real Madrid. This time, before the Aston Villa fixture, he abandoned all of that.

Representing Barcelona at the lunch that brought both boards together with Aston Villa, at the Via Veneto restaurant ahead of this evening's Champions League meeting at the Spotify Camp Nou, Laporta delivered moving words. "We feel deeply shocked by the death of Jesus de Miguel, the Tenerife player," he said. "It was tragic, and as president of Barcelona and representative of the club, I offer our sincere condolences to his family, his teammates, Tenerife and its fans. It was extremely shocking. We remember him as a sportsman, and we send our greetings to the members of his family."

Joining Laporta at the lunch were Rafa Yuste, vice-president for sporting affairs, Elena Fort, vice-president for institutional affairs, and Miquel Camps, a member of the board of directors.

Laporta also pointed to the minute's silence to be observed before the match between Barcelona and Aston Villa, in mourning for the death of Jesus de Miguel. UEFA will apply the same measure across the rest of its fixtures.

That silence at the Spotify Camp Nou will also honour the victims of the tragic train accident in Orda, in the province of Toledo.

Roberto Olabe, Aston Villa's football director, shared in the sorrow. He attended the lunch alongside Damia Vidagany, the English club's director of football operations.

Olabe said: "You can imagine the state we are all living through. We hold absolute respect for the player's family and for his club. It is a tragedy by every measure. There are things that cannot be controlled. And honestly, what happened is part of the events of the game."