He also had a short loan spell in Portugal with Benfica, before re-joining Sevilla late in his career and winning the Europa League another three times, reaching a record individual total of five.

[22] In the ensuing conversation, the latter allegedly declared that life in London was far from what he had envisioned and he would welcome a move back to his country; he also supposedly said that he wanted out of the club as there were "bad people" at Arsenal.

"[24] Reyes featured heavily in the Gunners' 2005–06 Champions League run, against, among others, Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal, coming on as a substitute in the final against Barcelona, which Arsenal lost 2–1.

[25] However, in August 2006, he expressed a desire not to play in the club's Champions League qualifying match against Dinamo Zagreb – to do so would render him 'cup-tied' and complicate a move to Real Madrid;[26] manager Arsène Wenger left him out of the side, thus fuelling speculation that a transfer was soon to be agreed.

[27] Reyes was linked to Real Madrid along with Arsenal teammate Cesc Fàbregas in the summer of 2006, when presidential candidate Arturo Baldasano claimed he would sign both if elected.

[28] 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 Wenger, who reacted angrily to Real Madrid's attempts to unsettle his player, suggesting that it was not the first time that club had used the media and agents in Spain as a destabilising tactic; shortly before the closure of the transfer window, the teams agreed to exchange him for Brazilian international Júlio Baptista, each on a season-long loan deal.

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

He scored his first official goal in Spain in more than two years on 9 January 2010, with a long-range effort at Real Valladolid, in a 4–0 win[41]– by then, he had beaten the competition of Maxi and started in the wings alongside Simão.

On 14 February 2010 he put in a Player of the match performance in Atlético's 2–1 victory against Barcelona, setting up the opening goal for Diego Forlán in the eventual champions' only league defeat of the season.

[42] Four days later, in the Europa League 1–1 home draw with Galatasaray, he scored a stunning free kick from the right wing on the 22nd minute, after he was brought down just outside the box (3–2 aggregate win).

[50] A week later, in the second leg, he was again on the scoresheet and also got an assist for Adrián López in a 2–0 away victory;[51] he struggled to find the consistency he had under Flores and, following a fallout with new coach Gregorio Manzano after being substituted in a 3–0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao, his playing time became more and more limited.

[59] However, he remained, starting as skipper in the ensuing Super Cup against Barcelona in Tbilisi and scoring once his side came from 4–1 down to take the game to extra time, but lose nonetheless.

Two years later, Reyes was picked for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but only took part in one match – the 1–0 group stage win over Saudi Arabia, with Spain already qualified in first place.

[82][83] Many footballers and his former clubs offered their condolences to Reyes' family, and a moment of silence was observed at the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final, played in Madrid later that day.