[2][3] Having started as a youth prodigy at Barcelona, he incidentally closed out his extensive career at neighbouring Espanyol, amassing La Liga totals of 269 games and 19 goals over the course of 12 seasons.

He went on to play 37 games for them, and first-team manager Johan Cruyff gave him his official main squad debut on 3 September 1995 as he came on as a substitute – and scored – in a 2–0 away win against Real Valladolid; at 19, he was initially regarded as the natural successor to Pep Guardiola.

The pair combined again to carve open the Zaragoza defence to lay on a goal for Luis García;[9] as a result, Espanyol again for the qualified for the UEFA Cup and eventually reached the competition final, losing to Sevilla on penalties.

[12] De la Peña, alongside the likes of Gaizka Mendieta, Fernando Morientes and Raúl, played for the Spanish under-21s at both the 1996 UEFA European Championship[13] and the 1996 Summer Olympics, helping the nation reach the quarter-finals in the latter.

On 8 June 2011, de la Peña was announced as part of the new coaching staff that would work alongside new manager Luis Enrique – a former teammate at Barcelona – at Serie A club Roma.