José Manuel Jurado

José Manuel Jurado Marín (born 29 June 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for RCD Espanyol as a central midfielder.
He played for both major teams in Madrid during his career, Real and Atlético, albeit with no success for the former. He amassed La Liga totals of 126 games and 19 goals over the course of six seasons, also representing in the competition Mallorca.
In 2010, Jurado signed for Schalke 04, going on to appear in 71 competitive matches in two years and win two major trophies, including the 2011 German Cup. He additionally had spells in Russia with Spartak, and England with Watford.

Real Madrid

A product of Real Madrid's youth system, Jurado was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, going on to be one of Real Madrid Castilla's most important players alongside Javi García.

He made his official debut for the main squad on 29 October 2005 in a 2–0 away win against Real Betis, and would make five first-team appearances overall, also fielding against Olympiacos F.C. in the season's UEFA Champions League.

Atlético Madrid

Jurado in action in a Madrid derby in 2010

On 4 August 2006, Jurado moved to city rivals Atlético Madrid for a reported fee of €3 million, signing a four-year contract. However, like with Álvaro Arbeloa before him, Real Madrid included a "special clause" in Jurado's contract, having the option of buying him back at the end of the 2007–08 campaign for €6 million.

After playing in 33 league games in 2006–07, mainly due to serious injuries to teammates Maxi Rodríguez and Martin Petrov, Jurado appeared sparingly in the following season, and was loaned to RCD Mallorca in July 2008. After outstanding performances during 2008–09 and finishing as the Balearic Islands side's second top scorer, he was recalled by the Colchoneros.

On 10 November 2009, Jurado put pen to paper a new contract with Atlético, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2013. He celebrated his new deal by scoring the opening goal of the 6–0 success in the Copa del Rey over UD Marbella, in the same evening.

During the 2009–10 campaign, Jurado – still not an undisputed starter – was the player with the most official matches for the team, with a total of 64. He also netted in double digits overall as they reached the finals of both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Europa League, and came on as a substitute in the final of the latter competition.

Jurado started 2010–11 playing eight minutes in the UEFA Super Cup win against Inter Milan. On 30 August, he opened the scoring as Atlético defeated Sporting de Gijón 4–0 at home; however, the following day, he was transferred to FC Schalke 04 in Germany for €13 million, reuniting with former Real Madrid teammate Raúl.

Schalke 04

Jurado in training for Schalke in August 2011

On 4 December 2010, Jurado scored his first Bundesliga goal for Schalke, helping to a 2–0 home win against FC Bayern Munich. The following game he netted the first in a 2–1 success at S.L. Benfica – after a chest pass from Raúl – for the Champions League group stage, which earned the club the first position after the final round; the roles reversed in the quarterfinals second leg 2–1 home triumph against Inter (7–3 on aggregate), as the midfielder assisted the forward in the opening goal, and the team ended their European campaign in the semi-finals with Jurado scoring their consolation in a 1–6 aggregate loss to Manchester United.

Jurado finished his only full season with the Gelsenkirchen side with 44 appearances and eight goals all competitions comprised. One of those came in the final of the German Cup, a 5–0 routing of MSV Duisburg.

Spartak Moscow

On 4 September 2012, Jurado was loaned to FC Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League, in a season-long move. The move was made permanent only two months later, being rendered effective in the following summer. In his debut campaign as a permanent player he recorded eight goals in 29 games, starting on 27 July 2013 with a brace in the Oldest Russian derby, a 4–1 win at city rivals FC Dynamo Moscow. In the reverse fixture, which was also the last matchday, he started a team comeback from 0–2 down to triumph 3–2.

Watford / Espanyol

On 22 July 2015, Jurado signed for newly promoted Premier League team Watford on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reuiniting with his compatriot and former Atlético manager Quique Sánchez Flores. He made his debut in the season opener on 8 August, starting in a 2–2 draw at Everton, and played 30 games for the eventual FA Cup semi-finalists without scoring.

On 5 July 2016, Jurado returned to his homeland for the first time in six years, signing for RCD Espanyol again under Flores.

Jurado played for Spain at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, and represented the nation at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship and the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

As of match played on 11 December 2016

Atlético Madrid

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2007
• UEFA Europa League: 2009–10
• UEFA Super Cup: 2010
• Copa del Rey: Runner-up 2009–10

Schalke 04

• DFB-Pokal: 2010–11
• DFL-Supercup: 2011

• "Jurado – Trophies". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 July 2015.