Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota has tragically died at the age of 28 following a car crash in Spain.
Tributes have started to pour in from across the sporting world amid news that Portugal international and his younger brother both sadly died after their car suffered a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle in Zamora, near Spain’s north-west border with Portugal .
"Much more than an amazing player, with almost 50 international appearances for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, someone with an infectious joy and a reference in the community itself,” wrote the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proenca.
Condolences have also flooded in for his young wife Rute Cardoso.
Cardoso, who is also a loving mum of three, is yet to speak publicly about the heartbreaking loss of her husband.
Who is Rute Cardoso?
Rute Cardoso is the 28-year-old wife of the late Liverpool star, Diogo Jota.
The pair were understood to be childhood sweethearts who attended the same school when they were younger before becoming a couple.
Local reports reveal that their connection dates back to 2013, when she was already sharing pictures of her beau on social media.
Also from Portugal, Cardoso is a mum to Jota’s three young children, including two boys called Denis and Duarte and a little girl who she gave birth to in late 2024.
Little is known about what she does for work, but her social media features a number of sun-filled shots of holidays around the world that she enjoyed alongside Jota and their children prior to his devastating accident.
When did they get married?
Rute and Diogo tied the knot on June 22, 2025, less than two weeks before his tragic accident. Both of them have shared a series of gushing posts on social media recently to commemorate their big day.
Just hours before he died, the couple shared a collaboration video on social media that featured lots of smiling clips taken from the day they said their vows in front of their loved ones.
“A day we will never forget,” the post read, which has now been inundated with messages from fans sharing their condolences following Jota’s death.
“I’m so sorry, rest in peace,” wrote one fan, while another follower said: “we will not forget you.”
Another post Jota shared on his social media showed the couple on their wedding day, alongside the caption: “Yes to forever.”
