He started and finished his 19-year professional career with Levante,[1] amassing La Liga totals of 387 games and eight goals over 15 seasons.

[2] After making the move permanent he went on to become an important defensive player, also starting to garner a reputation as a tough, sometimes to excess, central defender: in the 1998–99 season, as Tenerife ranked second-bottom, he was sent off twice in just eight appearances.

[3][4] For the 2000–01 campaign, Ballesteros moved to Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, collecting ten yellow cards in his only season and playing all the games and minutes in the team's quarter-final run in the UEFA Cup.

He fared even better the following campaign – also finding the net once, at Rayo Vallecano in a 2–1 victory[12]– to help the side finish sixth and qualify for the Europa League for the first time ever.

However, late into the campaign, he, alongside Juanlu and Gustavo Munúa, was accused by teammate José Barkero of lack of commitment during a 0–4 home loss to Deportivo de La Coruña, which led to several match fixing allegations.