The world is reeling in shock and profound sorrow as Liverpool star, Diogo Jota, died in a tragic car crash, Thursday morning in Zamora, Spain. He was 28.
The tragedy also claimed the life of his brother, Andre, 26, also a professional soccer player who plied his trade with Penafiel, a club in the second tier of Portuguese soccer.
Diogo’s club, Liverpool FC, announced the tragedy on its website saying that the star’s tragic end came just days after he married his long-term girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, and the mother of his three children on June 22, 2025.
An elated Cardoso shared images on Instagram just three days ago of her and Jota enjoying their special day, with the caption: “My dream came true.”
Diogo too relished the moment on his Instagram handle after tying the knot with his wife. He re-shared the post to his Instagram page in a collaboration, which was his last post on the social media platform.
Jota and Cardoso were in a relationship for over 13 years before marrying, having met at middle school and going to high school together. After nine years of dating, they became engaged in 2022 before marrying three years later. They shared three children, two sons and a daughter.
Liverpool announced the tragic passing of the star in a statement. It reads: “Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.
“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.”
Police in Spain have provided the BBC with a verbal statement. It read: “The information we have so far is that the car, which was a Lamborghini, was in a road traffic accident and left the road due to a tyre blowout while overtaking.
“It was in the early hours, 00:30 BST, in the municipality of Cernadilla in the province of Zamora. The car caught on fire, and the two occupants were killed.”
Police confirmed the other occupant in the vehicle was Andre.
Jota married his long-term partner and the mother of his three children, Rute Cardoso, just last month.
