(FILES) Liverpool’s Portuguese striker #20 Diogo Jota (2L) celebrates scoring the opening goal throughout the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother died in a automotive crash in northwestern Spain on Thursday, police said, weeks after the Portugal star got married and sparking a flood of tributes.
The Civil Guard said a vehicle veered off a motorway and burst into flames shortly after midnight within the municipality of Cernadilla in Zamora province, confirming the deaths of Jota, 28, and his brother Andre.
“All the things points to the blowout of a tyre while it (the vehicle) was overtaking,” the Civil Guard said in a press release, adding that the corpses had been taken to a morgue.
Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 3, 2025
Portuguese football federation president Pedro Proenca wrote on social media that he was “devastated”, calling Jota “a unprecedented person, respected by all his colleagues and opponents, someone blessed with an infectious joy and a reference for his own community”.
“We’ve got lost two champions. The death of Diogo and Andre Silva are irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we are going to do all the pieces possible to honour their legacy day-after-day,” Proenca added.
He said they’d asked UEFA for a minute’s silence before Portugal’s Women’s Euro 2025 match against Spain in Switzerland on Thursday.
Liverpool said it was “devastated” by the “unimaginable loss” and that it could make no further comment for the privacy of the brothers’ family, friends, teammates and club staff.
“We are going to proceed to offer them with our full support,” Liverpool added in a press release.
Liverpool fans had already begun laying flowers, scarves and other tributes on the club’s Anfield stadium, British media reported.
‘Honored Portugal’s name’
(FILES) Liverpool’s Portuguese striker #20 Diogo Jota celebrates after scoring a goal throughout the English League Cup third round football match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on September 25, 2024. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro described Jota as “an athlete who greatly honoured Portugal’s name”, expressing his condolences on “a tragic day for football and for national and international sports”.
“FC Porto is in mourning. It’s with shock and deep sorrow that we send our heartfelt condolences” to the family and friends of Jota and his brother, the Portuguese giants said in a press release.
Atletico Madrid also released a message expressing the La Liga club’s shock on the deaths and offered their condolences.
“They are saying we only lose people after we forget them. I’ll always remember you!”, Jota’s international teammate Ruben Neves posted in an Instagram story.
Jota had married his partner Rute Cardoso on June 22, posting a video of their wedding on Instagram just hours before the accident.
They’d three children.
The previous Atletico Madrid, Porto and Wolverhampton Wanderers star scored nine goals in all competitions last season as Liverpool cruised to their twentieth Premier League title.
Capped 49 times by Portugal, Jota moved to England in 2017 joining Wolves.
His impressive form earned a £45 million ($62 million) move to Liverpool three years later where he quickly became a fans’ favourite due to his goalscoring prowess.
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Jota scored 65 times for the Reds in his five seasons on the club and lifted the League Cup and FA Cup within the 2021/22 season.
His brother Andre played as a midfielder for FC Penafiel in Portugal’s second tier.