LIVERPOOL forward Diogo Jota and his brother both died in a car crash in Spain yesterday, police said, just weeks after the Portugal star got married.
The Civil Guard said a vehicle veered off a motorway and burst into flames shortly after midnight in the municipality of Cernadilla, Spain, in the northwestern Zamora province, confirming the deaths of Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva.
“Everything points to the blowout of a tyre while it [the vehicle] was overtaking,” the Civil Guard said in a statement, adding that the corpses had been taken to a morgue.
Local media published video footage showing debris and the charred, mangled remains of what they identified as Jota’s Lamborghini.
The central government’s representative in Zamora, Angel Blanco, told reporters the car “was burned out, and they died inside”.
Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to Jota on X, saying the death “makes no sense” just weeks after his marriage and their Uefa Nations League title with the national team. The superstar forward wrote: “We will all miss you.”
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who brought Jota to the Reds in 2020, said he was “heartbroken” in an Instagram post, while the club spoke of an “unimaginable loss”.
Fans were laying shirts, scarves, flowers and banners in tribute at the club’s Anfield stadium, social media footage showed.
Jota had married his partner Rute Cardoso on 22 June, posting a video of their wedding on Instagram hours before the accident. They had three children.
Daily Voice readers paid tribute to Jota on Facebook with one writing: “May your soul and that of your brother rest in peace and rise in glory. This is absolutely tragic news. #LFC #YNWA #RedsFamily.”