Tragic Death of Liverpool Star Diogo Jota in Car Accident in Spain

Scott Hill
4 Min Read

Diogo Jota, the renowned Portuguese soccer player who recently celebrated an English Premier League victory with Liverpool Football Club, has died in a tragic car accident, according to authorities on Thursday.

The club expressed profound grief in a statement, declaring it was “devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.”

The Guardia Civil reported that Jota, 28, and his brother, 25-year-old André Silva, a fellow professional footballer, lost their lives in a crash that occurred around 12:30 a.m. in the Zamora region.

Fans and tributes to Jota began to appear at Anfield stadium in Liverpool shortly after the news broke. The police indicated in their statement, “In the absence of a conclusion of the experts’ evidence, everything points that a car left the road, due to a tire blowout while overtaking.” The vehicle subsequently caught fire, and both occupants succumbed to their injuries.

The Portuguese national team honored Jota in a heartfelt statement on X, noting, “Far beyond being an exceptional player, with nearly 50 caps for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all teammates and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference within his own community.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, a teammate on the national side, expressed his disbelief on Instagram: “Doesn’t make any sense. Just now we were together in the National Team, just now you were married.”

Jota had just tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, ten days prior to the accident. The couple shared three children together, and social media was flooded with tributes from Liverpool supporters offering their condolences to his family.

Born in 1996 as Diogo José Teixeira da Silva, Jota made a significant impact during his time with Liverpool, amassing 182 appearances and scoring 65 goals, playing a vital role in the championship-winning team of the 2024-25 season. He also earned 49 caps for the Portuguese national team.

In a statement, the Portuguese national team emphasized the magnitude of their loss: “We have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and André Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese Football, and we will do everything to honor their legacy daily.”

Jota was a skillful forward known for his pace, balance, and dribbling skill, attracting attention from several top European clubs when he transferred from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Liverpool for a fee of £45 million ($61.5 million) in 2020. Prior to this, he played for Paços de Ferreira and Atlético Madrid.

FC Porto, one of Jota’s former teams, announced it was in mourning. Tributes from former Liverpool stars, including Jamie Carragher and Stan Collymore, flooded in as well. Collymore noted on X, “I’m sure like many in the football family there’s just a profound sense of shock, sadness and disbelief at the news of Diogo Jota’s death at the unfathomably young age of 28. Newly married too.”

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