The Portuguese Football Federation have mourned the “irreparable loss” of Diogo Jota after the Liverpool forward died in a car crash.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in an accident in the Spanish province of Zamora.
Just last month Jota married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he has three children.
In a statement, the Portuguese Football Federation described Jota as “an extraordinary person” and “someone with an infectious joy”.
A Federação Portuguesa de Futebol e todo o Futebol português estão completamente devastados com a morte de Diogo Jota e do seu irmão André Silva, esta madrugada, em Espanha.
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) July 3, 2025
Muito mais do que o fantástico jogador, com quase 50 internacionalizações pela Seleção Nacional A, Diogo… pic.twitter.com/yR9TII2h3K
“The Portuguese Football Federation and the entire Portuguese football community are completely devastated by the death of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, this morning in Spain,” they said.
“Much more than a fantastic player, who played almost 50 matches for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all his teammates and opponents, someone with an infectious joy and a reference in the community itself.
“The passing of Diogo and Andre Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese football and we will do everything we can to honour their legacy every day.”
A statement from the Zamora Guardia Civil, given to the BBC, confirmed the deaths of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, who was a 26-year-old player for Portuguese second-tier club Penafiel.
“The information we have so far is that the car, which was a Lamborghini, was in a road traffic accident and left the road due to a tyre blowout while overtaking,” the statement said.
“It was in the early hours, 00:30 BST, in the municipality of Cernadilla in the province of Zamora.
“The car caught on fire and the two occupants were killed.”
Jota helped Liverpool win the Premier League title last season and had been a key player for them after joining from Wolves five years ago.
He moved to Anfield as part of a deal worth over £40million, scoring 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool.
