Manchester United have paid tribute to Diogo Jota following the passing of the Liverpool and Portugal forward.
The football world was dealt shocking news this morning as Diogo Jota died at the age of 28.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who is also a professional footballer who played for Penafiel, died after a car in which they were travelling crashed in Zamora, Spain.
The news emerged early on Thursday morning as the Portuguese Football Federation released a statement, which read (via The Mirror): “The Portuguese Football Federation and the entire Portuguese football community are devastated by the deaths of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva in Spain this morning.
“Diogo Jota was not only a fantastic player with almost 50 caps for the national team, but also an extraordinary person who was respected by all his team-mates and opponents. He had a contagious joy and was a reference point in his own community.
“On behalf of the Portuguese Football Federation and myself, I would like to offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Diogo and Andre as well as Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the respective clubs of the players.
“We have lost two champions. Their deaths represent irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything we can to honour their legacy every day.”
The accident came less than two weeks after the Liverpool star married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he has three children.
More United News
Jota won 49 caps for Portugal, scoring 14 international goals, and last won the Nations League for a second time.
Bruno Fernandes hugging Diogo Jota after the Nations League win
Photo by ALEXANDRA BEIER/AFP via Getty Images
Manchester United pay tribute to Diogo Jota
The tributes have started to flood in for Jota and his brother, Andre.
Manchester United took to X, formerly known as Twitter, following the news to share a message.
The club passed on their condolences to everyone connected with Liverpool following the ‘heartbreaking’ news.
This is a time when the football world will come together to remember Jota as a successful footballer who enjoyed many special moments in the game.
At the age of 28, everyone is saddened to see his short career come to a premature end, regardless of who you support.
Man Utd stars join in with tributes to Jota
Harry Maguire was the first member of the United first team to share a tribute to Jota, whom he has played against on many occasions.
The centre-back shared two pictures of Jota along with the captions “so sad” and “heartbreaking”.
Former United goalkeeper David de Gea shared a similar picture, with the caption: “Sometimes life can be very cruel.”
Meanwhile, former United duo Gary Neville and Ashley Young took to Instagram to show their respect to Jota and Silva.