Liverpool striker Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva, better known as Diogo Jota, and his younger brother Andre Filipe Teixeira da Silva have died in a car crash near Zamora, in northwestern Spain, authorities said on Thursday.
The Premier League player, who was 28, got married last month to his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, posting images of the event on social media.
He also leaves behind their three children.
Jota’s brother Andre Filipe played for Portuguese club Penafiel.
Jota’s stellar soccer career
Jota, who played 49 times for the Portuguese national team, signed for Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2020.
He scored the first goal of the Anfield club’s 2024-25 title-winning campaign.
Jota also won the FA Cup and the League Cup with Liverpool, while scoring 65 goals in 182 appearances for the club.
What have the reactions been?
“Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota,” the Premier League club posted on X.
The Portuguese Football Federation have called on UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, to “hold a minute of silence, this Thursday, before our National Team’s match against Spain in .”
“We have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and Andre Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything to honor their legacy daily,” the federation posted on X.
“It doesn’t make sense,” wrote global superstar and fellow Portuguese international Cristiano Ronaldo on the same platform, sending his condolences to Jota’s wife and children. “Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you,” he added.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said “the news of the death of Diogo Jota, an athlete who greatly honored Portugal’s name, and his brother is unexpected and tragic. I extend my deepest condolences to their family. It is a sad day for football and for national and international sports.”
The German Football Federation posted on X: “We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva. Our thoughts are with his family, his loved ones, Liverpool FC, and the Portuguese Football Federation. Os nossos sentimentos.”
What do we know about the crash?
Authorities in Castile and Leon, a landlocked region in northern Spain bordered by Portugal, said a car crashed shortly after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames, with two men found dead.
The Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement that the car, a Lamborghini, veered off the road after a tire blowout.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
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