Police make ruling on the tragic death of footballer Diogo Jota

Police have revealed Liverpool superstar Diogo Jota was behind the wheel when he and his brother tragically died in a car crash.

Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota is thought to have been driving when he and his brother died in a car crash last week, Spanish police have said.

The father of three, 28, was killed alongside sibling Andre Silva, 25, also a footballer, after the Lamborghini they were in burst into flames after a suspected tyre blowout.

The Guardia Civil of Zamora, near where the crash happened in the early hours of last Thursday, said investigations showed Jota was driving.

A spokesman said: “Everything also points to a possible high excess of speed over the permitted speed of the road.”

An expert report will be handed to a court when completed.

Jota and Silva were found dead after the car crashed on the A-52 in Palacios de Sanabria near the city of Zamora at 12.40am on Thursday.

Diogo Jota and Cristiano Ronaldo during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Portugal and Czechia. Picture: Getty

Pictures of the aftermath of the crash showed debris scattered along the side of the road including what appeared to be charred parts of the vehicle.

The brothers’ funeral took place in their native Portugal on Saturday.

Tributes poured in from around the world, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Oasis and Cristiano Ronaldo among those who mourned the loss of the brothers.

Jota had married partner Rute Cardoso just 11 days before the crash.

Football stars joined family and friends at the funeral in his hometown of Gondomar, near Porto and conducted by the bishop of Porto.

A number of teammates from the national side, including Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Danilo Pereira and Joao Felix, as well as coach Roberto Martinez attended, though national skipper Cristiano Ronaldo was not present.

Liverpool Virgil van Dijk bore a garlanded wreath of red flowers in the form of a Liverpool shirt bearing Jota’s number 20.

View of the crash site where Liverpool FC player Diogo Jota and his brother lost their lives, showing the wreckage of the Lamborghini Huracan at kilometre 65 of the A-52. Picture: Getty

Friday evening had seen Van Dijk, several players including Liverpool’s Uruguay international Darwin Nunez and Liverpool coach Arne Slot meet with Jota’s family and attend a wake for the deceased brothers.

Among those who came to offer their condolences were a childhood friend, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes and Porto club president Andre Villas-Boas.

Jota formerly played with Porto.

“Football is truly in mourning. Diogo was an icon of the talent Portuguese football represents,” football federation chief Pedro Proenca said.

Close family and friends including the parents paid their respects at Friday’s wake first, with the grandfather aided by two others to help him enter the chapel.

Friday night, British rock band Oasis played their song Live Forever in tribute to Jota at a concert in Cardiff marking a return to touring after 16 years.

Mourners arrived carrying wreaths of flowers, some sobbing audibly, before the wake was opened to members of the public.

The death of the Portugal international and his brother has triggered an outpouring of emotion in football, and beyond.

Liverpool players walk to the church to attend the funeral of their teammate and his brother. Picture: AP

Liverpool opened a book of condolences and lowered flags to half-mast, with dozens of supporters laying a sea of flowers, balloons, Jota shirts, and scarves with the message “Rest in peace Diogo Jota”, outside Anfield.

At the Diogo Jota football academy, close to Gondomar SC where the ex-Porto and Atletico Madrid player took his first steps in the game, well-wishers created a memorial with flowers, scarves, candles and shirts.

“Thank you, Diogo Jota,” read a child’s handwritten message.

Pedro Neves, who was friends with Jota at school in Gondomar, said he “will remember him as someone who was very friendly, very courteous, who loved everyone, who always had a smile on his face”.

“He left us too young, it’s not fair. But that’s how life is sometimes,” Neves, 31, told AFP.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who brought Jota to the Reds in 2020, has said he was “heartbroken” while the club spoke of an “unimaginable loss”.

Slot, who succeeded Klopp last year at Anfield, said everyone associated with the club owed it to Jota to “stand together and be there for one another”.

Diogo Jota had got married just 10 days ago to his longterm partner Rute Cardoso and the couple have three children, Dinis, Durate, and a daughter who was born in 2024. Picture: Supplied

Diogo Jota married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso. The couple have three children, pictured on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League. Picture: Supplied

Jota was remembered at the Club World Cup in the United States on Friday, with a one-minute silence held at the quarter-final between Brazil’s Fluminense and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in Orlando.

A minute’s silence was similarly held at women’s Euro 25 matches.

Portuguese and UK media reported Jota was driving to the northern Spanish port of Santander to take a ferry to England where Liverpool were due to start training on Friday, avoiding a flight on medical advice after a recent lung operation.

Liverpool’s Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah said the death of his teammate had left him “frightened” to return to the club as the Premier League champions postponed the return of some players for pre-season training.

With AFP

This story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.

Originally published as Police make ruling on the tragic death of footballer Diogo Jota