Unfortunately, today (3 July) isn't a regular day in the world of football. This is because the sporting world has lost a star player. Diogo Jota and his brother were involved in a car crash that ended both their lives. This passing is so big that it's reached the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
Liverpool star, Diogo Jota, has died at the age of 28 after his Lamborghini careered off a road in northern Spain - just two weeks after he married his childhood sweetheart. The Portuguese forward was travelling in the supercar with his younger brother, Andre, 26, a fellow professional footballer who also died in the crash in the early hours of this morning.
The tyre of the Lamborghini is said to have blown out while overtaking on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora in northwestern Spain, close to the border with Portugal. The supercar came off the road, rolled and then burst into flames at around 00:35, also igniting the surrounding vegetation. The emergency services were called but the brothers couldn't be saved. Police say they don't yet know who was driving.
Jota had undergone minor surgery so doctors had advised against flying. As result, he was planning to return to Liverpool for pre-season training, due to begin on Monday, by ferry. This is understood to involve him travelling by car from Porto to get a ferry from Santander in northern Spain.
Zamora, close to the Portuguese border, is around 190 miles from Porto and a similar distance from the port. It's understood Jota had completed the journey in reverse to get to Porto for his wedding.
Liverpool FC said in a statement that the club is 'devastated' by the tragedy and that Diogo's family, friends and fans had suffered an 'unimaginable loss'. Flowers and tributes are being laid outside Anfield today, with many fans in tears.
Diogo Jota, whose actual surname was Silva, chose to use the name "Jota" to distinguish himself from other players named Diogo and Silva in the youth academy. "Jota" is the Portuguese name of the letter "J", making this equivalent to calling himself "Diogo J"
Jota had just married Rute Cardoso, the 28-year-old mother of his three children and partner since the age of 16. He had described himself as the luckiest man in the world to be her husband, sharing moving footage of their wedding day in his final Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.
The couple married on 22 June in Porto, the footballer's home city. Rute shared more wedding day pictures in a social media post yesterday and said: 'My dream come true.' Jota replied in the comments: 'I'm the lucky one.'
The couple have a four-year-old son and a two-year-old son together and welcomed their only daughter on 26 November last year. Rute Cardoso has been Jota's biggest supporter over many years and regularly attended his matches.
Rute Cardoso has been Jota's biggest supporter over many years and regularly attended his matches. She has often posted pictures of her cheering on Jota from the stands, both for Portugal and for Liverpool, as well as the previous clubs he played for.
She has often posted pictures of her cheering on Jota from the stands, both for Portugal and for Liverpool, as well as the previous clubs he played for.
The Lamborghini crash happened on the A-52 in the province of Zamora. The Spanish dual carriageway is a key route taken by drivers after leaving northern Portugal as they head for the ports of Santander and Bilbao or drive north-east towards France.
Emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region confirmed the crash and two fatalities at around 00:35 on Thursday morning. Diogo and Andre's deaths were then confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation at around 08:00.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Jota's friend, team-mate and Portugal's greatest player, said today: 'It doesn't make any sense. Just now we were together for the national team, you were just married. To your family, to your wife and children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. RIP. Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you'.
The Spanish civil guard said he was found dead alongside his brother, Andre Silva; after their car went off a road near the city of Zamora.
"The 1-1-2 Castilla y León operations room received several calls reporting a vehicle accident at Km. 65 of the A-52, in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora. A car was reported to have been involved in an accident and the vehicle was on fire," a statement read.
"1-1-2 notified the Zamora Traffic Police, the Zamora Provincial Council Fire Brigade and the Sacyl Emergency Coordination Center (CCU) of this accident. From there, a Medical Emergency Unit (UME) and the Primary Care Medical Staff (MAP) from the Mombuey Health Center were sent, who confirmed the death of two people on the scene."
It wasn’t clear who was driving the car. Police were looking into the hypothesis that the accident happened because of a blown tyre while they tried to overtake another vehicle.
Video images of the aftermath published by Spanish media showed braking tyre marks veering off the road toward torn-apart guardrails. The burnt-up car was seen several meters ahead, with some of the vegetation around it destroyed by the fire.
Diogo Jota was taking his summer break from football after having helped Portugal win the Nations League. That 8 June final against Spain in Munich was his last match.
"Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss. We will continue to provide them with our full support."
Liverpool fans gathered to place flowers and team scarves outside Anfield Stadium to mourn Jota’s passing when news of his death spread. Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 and won three major trophies with the Merseyside club.
Jota was a clinical finisher, scoring 65 goals in 182 games for the Reds. His last goal for the club was the winner in the Merseyside derby against Everton in April, which moved the team closer to the league title. For the national side, he scored 14 goals in 49 games.
Hungarian midfielder, Dominik Szoboszlai, who won the Premier League title with Jota this season at Liverpool, posted a tribute on Instagram.
"Words cannot describe how heartbroken and devastated we are... Your smile, your love for the game will never be forgotten," he wrote. "We will miss you so much, but you will stay with us forever, on and off the pitch."
Ex-Liverpool team-mate, Roberto Firmino also expressed his sadness at hearing the news: "It was a privilege and an honour to have known and lived such special moments alongside you. "When words fail, there are only inexpressible groans," he adds and says he is praying for Jota's family and friends.
Sadio Mane, who also played with Jota for a short spell at Anfield, posted a picture of the pair together on Instagram, accompanied by a broken heart symbol.
Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, commented on the, "unexpected and tragic" deaths. He said Jota was, "an athlete who greatly honored Portugal’s name.” “I extend my deepest condolences to their family,” he said. “It is a sad day for soccer and for national and international sports."
Born in Porto in 1996, Jota made his professional debut with Portuguese club, Paços de Ferreira.
The Portuguese football federation released a statement lamenting the deaths. Federation president, Pedro Proença, said Portuguese football was "completely devastated."
The Portuguese federation said it has requested a minute of silence before Thursday’s match between Portugal and Spain at the Women’s European Championship being played in Switzerland. "We lost two champions," Proença said. "Their deaths represent an irreparable loss for Portuguese soccer and we will all do our best to honour their legacy daily."
Former club, Porto and former team-mates lamented the deaths and sent condolences, as did other clubs, federations and leagues.
UEFA said its thoughts were with relatives, friends and teammates affected, "by this heartbreaking loss." It said a moment of silence will be observed at Euro 2025 matches on Thursday and Friday.
The Premier League said it was "shocked and devastated." "Our sincerest condolences go to Diogo’s family, friends, Liverpool FC, and all their supporters at this heartbreaking time," it said. "Football has lost a champion who will be forever missed. We will continue to support our friends and colleagues at the club."
UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has sent condolences to Diogo Jota's friends and family during a media briefing. "Let me start with Jota because this is devastating news," he said. "I am sure I speak for everyone in saying our first thoughts are going to be with his family and his friends in particular."
"There are millions of Liverpool fans but also football fans and non-fans who will also be shocked by this. It is devastating and really important we bear in mind just how difficult a period this will be for his friends and for his family."
To be blunt, when I saw this early in the morning, I believed that it was a hoax. After all, it came from a newspaper. I'm sure that you, the reader, are just as aware as I am that journalists and newspapers might make up stories to garner attention. However, as time went on, this story got bigger and bigger to the point that I believed that it really happened.
A star player has been lost. A void has been created and will be difficult to re-fill. There have been calls for Liverpool to retire the no. 20 (his club shirt number). I would tend to agree with that plea. This will show a sign of definite respect.