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A shocking news has brought the football community to a standstill. The Lamborghini car in which Liverpool forward and Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota, 28, and his brother Andre, also a professional footballer were travelling, came off the motorway in the municipality of Cernadilla, in the province of Zamora in the north west of Spain before catching fire due to a tyre blowout while overtaking. In the tragic turn of events, Diogo and Andre died, shortly after midnight on Thursday. According to the reports, witnesses who called Spain’s emergency services told the media they saw the car burst into flames, which spread to nearby vegetation.
Tributes from all over the football fraternity are coming for the deceased. In one such message, former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea posted on X following the tragic death of Jota. Describing the tragic nature of what happened, he posted a picture of the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man and wrote in the caption, “Sometimes life is very cruel.” Just weeks before this accident, Jota got married to his long-term partner Rute Cardoso on June 22. The couple had three children. The Liverpool forward’s brother Andre, aged 16, was also a professional footballer. He played for Portugal’s second division side Penafiel.
Diogo Jota won three titles while being a part of Liverpool
Diogo Jota joined Liverpool in 2020 from Wolverhampton for €44.7 million. Since then, he has played 182 games for the Merseyside club, scoring 65 goals and providing 26 assists. During that time, he won three titles with the Reds: a Premier League title (2024-25), an FA Cup title (2021-22), and a League Cup title (2021-22). Jota was also an accomplished international star who made 49 appearances across competitions for Portugal, scoring 14 goals. He won the UEFA Nations League twice with his country.
Liverpool also took to their social media channels to announce the passing of Jota. Reports claim that they have vowed to support the friends and family of the player and his brother during this phase.The Portuguese Football Federation President also released his statement on the matter, he confirmed that a minute’s silence will be observed during the Portugal women’s European Championship game against Spain on Thursday, July 3.
