Diogo Jota remembered: Football mourns the loss of a star and devoted family man
Tributes have poured in from teammates, legends and leaders - remembering a player of unrelenting energy, a devoted family man, and a champion taken far too soon.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
"It makes no sense. We were just together with the national team (they won the Nations League title last month), 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."
VIRGIL VAN DIJK
"Absolutely devastated and in total disbelief. What a human being, what a player, but most importantly what an unbelievable family man. You meant so much to all of us and you always will. My heart is breaking."
Virgil van Dijk is Liverpool's captain.
ARNE SLOT
"The sense of shock is absolute. What to say? What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and the pain is so incredibly raw? I wish I had the words but I know I do not."
Arne Slot is Liverpool's manager.
LEBRON JAMES
"My prayers goes out to his loved ones during this time! May you all be guided and protected! YNWA (You'll Never Walk Alone) JOTA!!"
Basketball legend LeBron James is a shareholder of Liverpool.
LUIS MONTENEGRO
"The news of the death of Diogo Jota, an athlete who greatly honoured Portugal's name, and his brother is unexpected and tragic."
Luis Montenegro has been the Portuguese prime minister since 2024.
KEIR STARMER
"I'm sure I speak for everyone in saying our first thoughts are going to be with his family and his friends in particular, but there are millions of Liverpool fans, but also football fans, who will also be shocked by this."
Keir Starmer has been the prime minister of the United Kingdom since 2024.
PORTUGUESE FOOTBALL FEDERATION
"We have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and Andre Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything to honour their legacy daily."
Playing for the Portuguese Football Federation, Diogo Jota won 49 senior caps and won the Nations League title twice, most recently last month.
GIANNI INFANTINO
"Aged just 28, Diogo had enjoyed a fantastic career to date and had many great years ahead of him, while his brother Andre was thriving at FC Penafiel - they will both be so sorely missed by all those who knew them and by the worldwide football community."
Gianni Infantino has been the FIFA president since 2016.
UEFA
"On behalf of the European football community, we are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Diogo Jota, Portugal international and Liverpool FC forward, along with his brother Andre Silva."
UEFA added there would be a "moment's silence" prior to Thursday and Friday's women's Euro 2025 matches.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
"We are heartbroken. Diogo was adored by our fans, loved by his teammates and cherished by everyone who worked with him during his time at Wolves. The memories he created will never be forgotten. You will be truly missed, and always remembered."
Jota played for the Wolverhampton Wanderers from 2017 to 2020.
RAUL JIMENEZ
"It's difficult to receive this kind of news and I still can't believe it. An excellent teammate, friend and, above all, a great father. Thanks for everything my friend, we will always remember you. A hug to the sky. RIP."
Raul Jimenez was Jota's former Wolves teammate. He came close to dying after suffering a fractured skull in a clash of heads with David Luiz in November 2020.
DARWIN NUNEZ
"There are no words of comfort for so much pain. I will always remember you with your smile, as a good companion on and off the field. I send all my strength to his family, from where he is I'm sure he will always be with you, especially his wife and three children."
Darwin Nunez is Jota's Liverpool teammate.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
"Everyone at the Premier League is shocked and devastated to learn of the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre. Football has lost a champion who will be forever missed. We will continue to support our friends and colleagues at the club."
PORTO
"Porto are in mourning. It is with shock and deep sorrow that we send our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva. Rest in peace."
Jota spent a season with Porto on loan from 2016 to 2017. Andre was also a youth player with the team.
ATLETICO MADRID
Jota played for Atletico Madrid from 2016 to 2018.
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Flower tributes are left outside Liverpool's Anfield Stadium after Liverpool's Portuguese soccer player Diogo Jota died in a car crash near Zamora, Spain, in Liverpool, Britain, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY GONDOMAR, Portugal - Prime Minister Luis Montenegro joined members of Diogo Jota's family for a private wake on Friday in the Liverpool footballer's hometown in northern Portugal following his death alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain. Jota's longtime agent Jorge Mendes was also seen joining the family, including wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier. Montenegro spent almost half an hour with the family before leaving without making a statement. A convoy of hearses carrying the bodies left for Gondomar near Porto on Thursday evening from the morgue of Puebla de Sanabria, near where the Lamborghini the brothers were traveling in had veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst. A public wake is expected to take place at a chapel in Gondomar from 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) and a funeral on Saturday at a church nearby at 10:00 a.m. local time, the office of Gondomar's mayor said. The death of Jota at the age of 28 has jolted the world of football, with messages of homage pouring in from former teammates, clubs, national leaders and fans. Outside Liverpool's Anfield stadium fans left flowers, scarves and hand-written notes, many from children. Football clubs including Paris St Germain, who have several Portuguese internationals in their squad, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid observed a moment of silence during training for their matches in the Club World Cup taking place in the United States. MOURNING HIS FRIEND Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on Thursday that forward Pedro Neto was weighing whether to play in Friday's quarter-final against Palmeiras, as the Portuguese international mourns the tragic death of his close friend. Jota's manager at Liverpool, Arne Slot, said in a statement on Thursday that his thoughts were with his family. "My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone," Slot said. "For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special," he added. In Gondomar, a town of about 160,000 people in the Porto metropolitan area that is known for artisanal gold and filigree jewelry, residents were struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of a local hero. At the Diogo Jota Academy in Gondomar – whose motto is "It's not important where we come from, but where we are going" – people placed candles, flowers and scarves and shirts from the various clubs he played for and from the Portuguese national team, in tribute to the player. Jota opened the academy in 2022 for children aged 6-9 at the Gondomar Football Club where he played for 10 years as a child. It was at Gondomar's high school that he met his wife. They began dating aged 15 when in the same class and she became a pillar in his life. When they were 19, they moved to Madrid together, when Jota was transferred from the small Portuguese club Paços de Ferreira to Atletico de Madrid. "Besides being his girlfriend and best friend, I'm his number one fan," Cardoso told the newspaper 'A Bola' at the time. Jota was making his way back to Liverpool by car after he was told he should avoid plane travel for up to 6 weeks following lung surgery to address a fractured rib, his physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves told broadcaster Now late on Thursday. Goncalves said Jota was recovering well from the pneumothorax surgery and that he had planned to take a ferry to the UK from Spain. REUTERS
