Ronaldo's ex-teammate at Real Madrid joins Malaysia's top club

"Jesé has played for major clubs in all top divisions. The two-time UEFA Champions League winner is now part of the Johor Darul Ta'zim family," the club announced on Oct. 5.

Jesé Rodriguez, professionally known as Jesé, is a product of Real Madrid Castilla youth academy. In 2011, he was promoted to the first team, playing with stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Iker Casillas. After four seasons with Madrid, Jesé scored 18 goals in 94 matches, winning the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 Champions League, the 2011-2012 La Liga and the 2013-2014 Copa Del Rey.

After that, Jesé move to French giant PSG, but failed to become a mainstay and was loaned out to Las Palmas and Real Betis (Spain), Stoke City (England) and Sporting CP (Portugal). In 2021, Jesé signed for Las Palmas but only played one year there. After that he had stints in Turkey, Italy and Brazil.

Before joining Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT), Jesé played for Brazilian club Coritiba with a short contract from September to December 2024. He was unemployed for nine months before going to Malaysia.

"Jesé trains to stay in shape and is always ready to return to play," Marca reported.

JDT were founded in 1972 and is owned by Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the heir to the throne of Johor state. With strong financial capability, JDT have become the strongest team in Malaysia over the past decade, having won 10 consecutive national titles since 2014. The team also won the AFC Cup (now AFC Champions League Two) in 2015, becoming the first Southeast Asian club to win a continental title in the modern football era.

JDT are currently coached by former Venezuelan footballer Hector Bidoglio.

In the 2024-2025 Malaysia Premier League, JDT are leading after 11 rounds, with 10 wins, one draw, scoring 41 goals and conceding only six. Last season, the club scored 100 and conceded only seven goals, winning 25 and drawing one game after 26 rounds. They won the championship with 76 points, 15 more than the second place Selangor.

JDT are having 17 foreign players in their squad. In addition to Jesé, the other four Spanish players are goalkeeper Christian Abad, midfielder Iker Undabarrena, Juan Muniz and Oscar Arribas. In addition, center-back Jordi Amat was originally a Spanish national before becoming an Indonesian player. Other names are from Brazil, England, France, Australia, Portugal, South Korea, Italy, Colombia and Azerbaijan.

This season, JDT spent heavily on foreign players to aim for a good result in the AFC Champions League Elite - Asia's most prestigious club tournament, as this year's edition does not limit the number of foreign players in a club.

After two rounds of the group stage, JDT drew 2-2 with Chinese club Shanghai Port, then beat Shanghai Shenshua 3-0. The club are second with four points, two behind Gwangju of South Korea.