Spanish ex-footballer died under a train. Five years ago, he fell from the third floor, became disabled and won the tennis championship.

Very sad news from Spain – the 32-year-old former football player Pelayo Novo has died. He was hit by a train.

Pelayo is not the most famous player, but his story is very dramatic.

Novo ended his career due to disability: he fell from the third floor of the hotel

Pelayo played in midfield for lesser-known clubs: he made over 200 appearances in the Segunda for Oviedo, Elche, Córdoba, Lugo and Albacete. He also left for the Romanian CFR, but returned to Spain two months later.

His career ended in March 2018 at the age of 27. In Huesca, he was on the phone in a hotel, leaned against the railing, and fell from the third floor. Teammates gave him first aid before the doctors arrived. Pelayo spent 51 days in the Zaragoza hospital, then went to the Toledo clinic, where they work with paralysis.

The worst thing that happened to Pelayo that year was the partial paralysis of his lower body. Since then, he could only move around on crutches or in a wheelchair. But he still turned his life around.

Pelayo, even before this incident, suffered from depression and regularly visited a psychologist – he had a rich clinical history. Even then, it was suspected that the fall from the third floor was not an accident at all.

Novo changed sports and became a champion

Soon Pelayo announced his retirement. And he said: “Then in Zaragoza, I was not very aware of what was happening to me. There was not much information, and sometimes you don’t want to perceive it at all. Sometimes I unconsciously said: “When my leg heals, I can play football.”

He said that the time in Zaragoza was more like receiving visitors than rehab. In Toledo, Pelayo realized that football was over. “It’s hard to accept, but there is life after that. I retired from football, but I saw its good side – players came to me who barely knew me. Pelayo was visited by the head of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, and the head of the Spanish Football Association, David Aganso.

After football, Pelayo switched to handicapped tennis. “Football chose me and I chose tennis. When football becomes a profession, you no longer enjoy it as you did when you were a child.”

So Pelayo reasoned three years later – by that time he had already mastered tennis well, participated in tournaments and reached 17th place in the ranking of disabled tennis players. In 2021, he became the first Asturian champion in this sport and has risen further in the rankings. And he did not despair at all: “If I had received a spinal injury a little higher, I would have lost more mobility. And so, even now I can do a lot.”

Pelayo studied, opened a salon and became a member of the tennis federation

After leaving football, Pelayo, as he himself said, did not succumb to depression, although he was forced to turn to a psychologist. Since then he has:

• Went to the pool and even surfed.

• In El Entrego, he worked with disabled children.

• Studied administration and finance.

• Together with his girlfriend, he opened a dog grooming salon in Oviedo.

• Served on the Board of Directors of the Asturian Tennis Federation.

 And he also got married. Most recently, eight months ago.

He died in the same place as the ex-Barcelona goalkeeper

The train hit Pelayo in La Corredoria, a district of the city of Oviedo. There are no details yet – emergency services arrived at the scene, but could not save the guy.

In May 2021, former Barcelona goalkeeper Francesc Arnau died. It was also found on the railroad tracks of La Corredoria station.

People flock to Pelayo’s social network. His posts were hardly commented on, now hundreds of people are reacting to the tragedy there. Sporting Gijón, Albacete, Oviedo and other clubs expressed their condolences. Responded with them and Real Madrid.

And this is what a minute of silence looked like in Oviedo.

Now in social networks, you can increasingly see the goal of Cordoba against Las Palmas from 2014. This ball in the last minutes brought her to the Example, and the canopy was made by the substitute Pelayo . It was probably the peak of his football career.