Thousands of mourners have gathered at Tenerife’s stadium to ‌bid farewell to striker Jesus de Miguel, with captain Enric Gallego ‌struggling through tears to honour a teammate who died aged 30 after ‌suffering a cardiac arrest following a collision during a match.

De Miguel collided with Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono on Monday and was taken to intensive care. Spanish second-division club Tenerife confirmed his death aged 30 on ‌Tuesday morning.

A ‌huge banner ⁠bearing his black-and-white photograph and the words “Forever ​Demi” hung behind a stage in the centre of the pitch at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).

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After a video featuring footage of his Tenerife debut, supporters chanted: “De Miguel, we love you”.

Players sat alongside representatives ⁠from every club in Spain’s top ‌two ​divisions, including Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno, as tears flowed in ​the stands.

“To ‌speak of you in the past tense is tremendously unfair,” ​Gallego said, pausing repeatedly during his speech.

“It’s still hard to believe that this has happened to us, Demi; you’ll always ​be ​one of us.”

Tenerife soccer player Jesus de Miguel has been farewelled across La Liga, and at his home stadium. Credit: AAP

Demi was ​the nickname used by De Miguel’s ‌friends.

“We’re still struggling to come to terms with the fact that you won’t be with us again,” Gallego added.

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Speeches by club directors were followed by a religious service during the 90-minute tribute in ​Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Matches across Spain’s divisions over the weekend ​observed a minute’s ⁠silence in De Miguel’s honour.