[1] Only linked to the club with an amateur contract, he moved to Asturias and signed for Sporting de Gijón, with Deportivo president Augusto César Lendoiro proceeding to engage in a lengthy court battle, which was eventually resolved in the footballer's favour.
[2] After three seasons with Sporting, only starting in the latter as the team finished 15th in La Liga, Vales joined Real Zaragoza in the same league for 200 million pesetas.
He started regularly in his first years, but was already a fringe player in the 2000–01 campaign when the Aragonese side won the Copa del Rey.
[6][7][3] He then signed with RCD Mallorca,[8] but suffered a relapse in his condition and eventually decided to retire at age 30, with Spanish top tier totals of 228 matches and 18 goals.
[9] On 14 October 1998, Vales earned his first – and only – cap for Spain: it consisted of one minute in a 2–1 win in Israel for the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers after coming on as a substitute for Real Madrid's Raúl.