Jesé

In spite of his struggles in breaking into the first-team, Jesé continued to excel for the Castilla and on 2 June he broke the record for most goals scored in a single season for the reserve side, netting a solo goal in a 4–0 home win over AD Alcorcón to surpass the record of 21 goals set by Emilio Butragueño in 1983–84.

Jesé's success drew praise from Pérez who described him as the jewel in the crown of Los Blancos' academy.

He ended the season with 22 goals to his name in 38 appearances, earning the Zarra Trophy for the top Spanish goalscorer in the league, and on 18 June reiterated his desire to stay at Real Madrid in order to fight for a place in the first team.

Jesé Rodríguez Ruiz (born 26 February 1993), known as Jesé, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as winger or forward.

Born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Jesé began his football career with local team Huracán in 2005, whom he joined from amateur side El Pilar.

His form at youth level for the club saw him attract interest from La Liga sides Espanyol, Mallorca and Barcelona, but he opted to sign for Real Madrid's youth system in 2007, aged 14.

Jesé spent most of the season with Real Madrid's Juvenil A team, however, and enjoyed a successful 2010–11 campaign which earned him a permanent promotion to the Castilla side.

An academy graduate of La Liga side Real Madrid, Jesé debuted for the senior team in 2011, making 94 appearances across all competitions for the club and scoring eighteen goals.

Jesé made his senior debut for the Real Madrid Castilla side on 16 January 2011 in a 5–0 Segunda División B home win over Universidad de Las Palmas.

His performance throughout the match, which included an assist for Dani Carvajal, drew early comparisons to fellow Real Madrid teammate and multiple Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo.

In July 2011, Jesé was selected by first-team manager José Mourinho for the club's pre-season tour of the United States and made his non-competitive debut for Real Madrid in a friendly against Los Angeles Galaxy, coming on as a 64th minute substitute for José Callejón and scoring in a 5–1 win.

He returned to the Castilla for the start of the season and scored his first goal on 2 October 2011 against La Roda CF, finishing an assist from Álvaro Morata in a 4–2 away loss.

Having impressed with the reserve side during the first half of the season, Jesé was handed his senior debut on 12 December in the first round of the Copa del Rey, replacing Ronaldo for the final fifteen minutes of a 2–0 away triumph over SD Ponferradina.

After the match Jesé dedicated his debut to his family who had supported him in fulfilling his dream.

He was part of the Spain U19 side which won the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and claimed the Golden Boot award for ending as the tournament's top goalscorer.

He made his first La Liga appearance on 24 March 2012, once again replacing Ronaldo for the last ten minutes of a 5–1 home win over Real Sociedad.

Aside from his two senior appearances, Jesé made 39 appearances and scored 10 goals for Castilla as the club was crowned Segunda División B champions.

The senior side were also crowned champions of La Liga, having claimed the title with two games to spare in early May.

The following season, after criticism that players from the Castilla were not being given a fair chance, Mourinho stated that it was difficult to do so as the senior side played a different style to the reserves.

He also highlighted the position Jesé was being played in as one that did not exist in the main squad.

Jesé's lack of opportunity prompted agent Ginés Carvajal

to publicly state that they would need to study options for the player's future if he was not permanently promoted to the first team the following year with the guarantee he would receive more playing time.

In February 2013, in an interview with Marca, Jesé spoke out against his lack of senior game, stating that he was confident he was doing well enough to be granted an opportunity and, while he tried to learn as much as he could from Mourinho, he was a manager who surrounded himself with players who had already made their name.

Club chairman Florentino Pérez and B-side coach Alberto Toril both defended Jesé for his comments, although the latter advised that he should learn to control his emotions.

While at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup with Spain, Jesé was the subject of mass media speculation that he could be leaving Real Madrid following his lack of game-time with the first team the season before.

The club's technical director, Miguel Pardeza, categorically stated on 13 July that the player would remain at the club, however, and Jesé extended his contract for a further four years later in the same month, signing a deal worth more than €1 million a year and which contained a €200 million release clause.

Jesé was handed his Champions League debut on 2 October 2013 by new club manager Carlo Ancelotti, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Karim Benzema in a 4–0 group stage victory over F.C. Copenhagen.

He scored his first competitive goal for Real Madrid in his first El Clásico appearance on 26 October, netting in injury-time from a Ronaldo assist in a 2–1 loss at Barcelona.

On 23 November, Jesé came on as a second-half substitute against UD Almería and contributed with his first two assists for the first team in a 5–0 away win.

He enjoyed a fine run of form between the back end of 2013 and March 2014, where he netted a late winner at Valencia, scored his first Copa del Rey goal in a 2–0 win over CA Osasuna and netted in league encounters against Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Getafe.

On 18 March, however, just two minutes into Real Madrid's Champions League's round-of-16 second leg game against Schalke, Jesé suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee following a challenge from Sead Kolašinac and was sidelined for the remainder of the season.

He ended the season with 5 goals and 4 assists to his name in 18 league appearances, and 8 goals in 31 matches across all competitions as Real Madrid went on to lift the Copa Del Rey and Champions League trophies.

During his time in Madrid, which was disrupted by a serious knee injury in 2014, he won two Champions League medals, as well as a title in each of La Liga, the FIFA Club World Cup and the Copa del Rey.

Jesé is also a musician and goes by the stage name Jey M. He was previously part of a two-man reggaeton band which was formed in March 2014 and disbanded later that year.

After spending nine months on the sidelines, Jesé returned from injury for the second leg of Real Madrid's tie against UE Cornellà in the Copa del Rey round of 32 on 2 December 2014, replacing Sami Khedira after 57 minutes and scoring the last goal of a 9–1 aggregate victory.

On his injury, Jesé stated: "I had a very tough time, but I think that things in life happen for a reason. Maybe I had the injury because I needed to learn and become a more mature footballer."

Jesé left the club in 2016 to join Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain for a reported fee of €25 million, before returning to Spain six months later to join hometown club Las Palmas on loan for the remainder of the season.

Jesé then joined Premier League side Stoke City on loan for the 2017–18 season, and later Real Betis for the second half of the 2018–19 La Liga campaign.

After a brief loan spell with Primeira Liga club Sporting CP, Jesé left PSG to rejoin Las Palmas on a permanent deal.

On the international stage, Jesé earned 36 caps at youth level for Spain from under-16 to under-21 level, scoring sixteen goals overall.