Diogo Jota's agent in tears speaking after morgue visit where bodies were taken
Diogo Jota's agent, Jorge Mendes, visited the mortuary where the late Liverpool star and his brother's bodies were being held in floods of tears. The 28-year-old forward lost his life in a tragic car accident alongside his younger sibling Andre Silva.
Heartbreaking news broke on Thursday morning that Reds star Jota and his brother, 26, had passed away after a car accident in Zamora province, Spain. The Lamborghini they were travelling in suffered a tyre blowout while overtaking and veered off the road, catching fire. Both Jota and his brother were declared dead at the scene.
Super agent Mendes, who counsels some of Portuguese football's biggest names, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, had long worked with the Liverpool forward, even since he arrived in the Premier League with Wolves.
Mendes spoke to reporters after his visit to the Puebla de Sanabria mortuary in Zamora, where Jota and his brother's bodies were being kept until Thursday evening.
"We lost two great people. Diogo is an example as a person, husband, son, professional. I still can't believe it, it's very difficult," confessed Mendes in tears.
Mendes arrived alongside Jota's mother and travelled to Spain to be with the grieving family. Jota and his brother's bodies were kept at the location until Thursday evening, when the hearses departed for the Liverpool forward's hometown of Gondomar, near Porto in Portugal.
They arrived just before midnight and were met by crowds of mourning fans, many of whom applauded as the vehicles arrived almost 24 hours after the tragic crash. Jota and his brother's funerals are set to take place at 10am on Saturday morning. A vigil is due to take place at Sao Cosme Chapel before a funeral service at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar.
Many fellow clients of Mendes and international team-mates have paid their respects to the late Jota, including Portugal captain Ronaldo, who wrote on Instagram: "It doesn't make sense. We were just together in the national team, and you had just gotten married.
"To your family, your wife and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you."
Current Fenerbahce manager Mourinho also released a statement: "The loss of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva is a great tragedy and an immense injustice for someone who was so young and had so much life ahead of him. I send my deepest condolences to all their family and friends."
Manchester City's Ruben Dias is another who shared the pitch with Jota for Portugal. He also relayed his heartache, saying: "I still can't believe it. You won your first Premier League, we won the Nations League together, and you got married. It doesn't make sense.
"We will not forget you, as a man, as a father, as a brother, as a son and as the tireless and talented team-mate you always were on the field. May you both rest in peace."
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