Liverpool star Jota dies in car crash
- Stefan Huber
Stefan Huber.
Football star Diogo Jota has died. The Liverpool FC player died in a car accident. His brother André, who was also in the car, was also killed.
Liverpool FC's Diogo Jota has died. The 28-year-old died in a car accident in the Spanish province of Zamora on Thursday morning. This was reported by several media outlets, including the Spanish newspaper "Marca." The president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proenca, also confirmed the news.
Also in the Lamborghini was his brother André Silva, 25 years old and also a professional footballer for the Penafiel club in Portugal.
The brothers drove off the road at kilometer 65 near the municipality of Palacios de Sanabria on the A-65 motorway, a popular route out of northern Portugal. According to witnesses who alerted the emergency services at around 12:40 a.m., the car subsequently caught fire. The flames also spread to the surrounding vegetation. Emergency services could only confirm the deaths of the two young men upon arriving at the scene.
Meanwhile, several sources are reporting that the car's tires burst. This presumably happened during an overtaking maneuver. This caused the car to veer off the road. According to the media outlet "Zamora24horas," both men were burned beyond recognition, and their remains have been taken to a forensic institute.
Jota had just married his girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, on June 22. The couple had three children, born in 2021, 2023, and 2024. The day before the accident, an interview was published in which Jota called himself the "happiest man in the world."
"The Portuguese Football Federation and all of Portuguese football are deeply shocked by the deaths of Diogo Jota and André Silva this morning in Spain," read a statement from the Portuguese Football Federation. "We lost to two champions. The disappearance of Diogo and André Silva represents an irreparable loss for Portuguese football, and we will do everything we can to honor their legacy every day."
FC Porto, one of Jota's former clubs, also offered condolences on X. "The Futebol Clube do Porto is in mourning. With shock and deep sadness, we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, who was also our youth player," reads one post. "Rest in peace."
FOCUS
