On 25 August2007, Puerta collapsed and lost consciousness in the penalty area due to a cardiac arrest during Sevilla's first La Liga match of the 2007–08 campaign at homeground Sánchez Pizjuán against Getafe CF. He was seen crouching and then subsequently collapsing upon moving back to his team's goal after only 35 minutes of the game had passed, as teammates Ivica Dragutinović and Andrés Palop immediately ran to his side as he lost consciousness; moments later, club medical staff and other players followed suit. After recovering and being substituted, Puerta was able to walk to the dressing room, where he collapsed once again. He was resuscitated by the doctors and taken, by ambulance, to the intensive care unit of Virgen del Rocío hospital, where he received cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Puerta died on 28 August 2007, at 14:30. Doctor Francisco Murillo reported that he had suffered multiple organ failure and irreversible brain damage as a result of multiple prolonged cardiac arrests due to an incurable, hereditary heart disease known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. There was no official word on whether he had ever been equipped with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, an essential precaution in people with the disease; his premature death was similar to those of Marc-Vivien Foé, Matt Gadsby, Miklós Fehér, Renato Curi, Serginho and Phil O'Donnell, all of whom collapsed whilst playing football. Puerta's girlfriend was expecting their first child at the time of his death. As a mark of respect, players from both Sevilla and city rivals Real Betis attended his funeral days after his death and, subsequently, FIFA ordered the installation of resuscitation rooms in every stadium that hosted the World Cup qualifiers.
Tributes
As a result of Puerta's death, Sevilla's UEFA Champions Leaguequalifier against AEK Athens F.C. was postponed until the fourth of September– Sevilla eventually won 4–1. The club also announced that a one-minute silence would be held before every league match on the weekend of 1–2 September 2007. Additionally, Sevilla's UEFA Super Cup game with A.C. Milan on 31 August went ahead, as a tribute to the player, with all 22 participants having the name 'PUERTA' printed on the back of their jersey. The players and officials on both sides also wore black armbands. Sevilla subsequently retired Puerta's number 16 shirt, with the provision that should his son, Aitor Antonio, one day play for the club, he will have the option to bring the number out of retirement. However, Spanish football teams were not allowed to do so, as the Royal Spanish Football Federation stated that clubs should use number 1 to 25 for their regular squad, with no additional room for manoeuvre; as a result, David Prieto wore the shirt in 2007–08 in honour of his friend but it was later decided that only youth products could wear that jersey. Controversially, the number was given to Argentine Federico Fazio in 2016. One year later, it was awarded to Jesús Navas, a close friend of Puerta, upon his return to the club in 2017. Ramos wore t-shirts in memory of Puerta after Spain won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with Navas doing the same on the latter occasion. Earlier in 2010, a statue of him was built in the club's José Ramón Cisneros Palacios sporting facilities.
