Former Tenerife player, Jose Castellano-Gonzales, committed the crimes in Devon and Bedfordshire.
He moved to the UK in 2015 after his career was ended by injury.
He was jailed for 11 years at Exeter Crown Court having been found guilty at a trial in January.
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Castellano-Gonzales, 25, from the Canary Islands played for the B team at Tenerife at a time when the A team were in La Liga, the top division in Spain.
He was convicted of a total of 13 sexual assaults.
Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, at Exeter Crown Court told him: "You have caused untold damage to the victims, as was clear from some of the evidence at the trial. What you did had a potentially profound effect."
An NSPCC spokesperson for South West England said: "Castellano-Gonzales groomed five vulnerable young boys before abusing them purely for his own sexual gratification."
"His victims have shown enormous bravery in speaking out and it is thanks to them that he now faces the consequences of his actions."
A former Spanish professional footballer has been jailed after being found guilty of sexual offences against five young boys.