Rute Jota, 28, was among relatives seen sobbing and comforting each other at a morgue in Spain where the bodies of Jota and his younger brother Andre were being held
14:30, 03 Jul 2025Updated 14:54, 03 Jul 2025
Rute is comforted by loved ones outside the morgue
Rute is comforted by loved ones outside the morgue(Image: AP)
The heartbroken widow of tragic footy ace Diogo Jota can be seen being comforted by loved ones at a morgue in Northern Spain.
Rute Jota, 28, was among relatives seen sobbing and comforting each other at Zamora's Institute of Forensic Medicine on Thursday afternoon, where the bodies of Jota and his younger brother Andre were being held.
She is understood to have helped identified her childhood sweetheart's body after he died in a horror crash on Thursday morning, less than a fortnight after they walked down the aisle. Family can be seen holding her as she wept outside the building.
The couple, who have three children, have been together since they were teenagers and tied the knot in their hometown of Porto on June 22, after Jota lifted the Nations League with Portgual and the Premier League trophy with Liverpool. The loved-up pair shared photos of the big day on social media.
Relatives were seen at the morgue on Thursday
Relatives were seen at the morgue where Digo's body is being held on Thursday(Image: AP)
But their life together was tragically cut short when the Lamborghini he was travelling in was engulfed in a fireball after a tyre blew out on the motorway in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Article continues below
The siblings were heading to Santander to catch a boat to Britain so Diogo could return to Liverpool for pre-season training. He was advised not to fly following lung surgery.
The tyre of the Lamborghini supercar, reportedly a £150,000 Urus SUV, is said to have blown out while overtaking on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora, just ten miles over the border from Portugal.
Everton fans were among those laying flowers at Anfield in Jota's memory on Thursday
Everton fans were among those laying flowers at Anfield in Jota's memory on Thursday(Image: / SWNS)
The supercar came off the road, rolled and then burst into flames at around 12.35am. The emergency services were scrambled to the scene, but the brothers could not be saved. Police say they don't yet know who was driving.
Angel Blanco, a central government representative for the province of Zamora said forensic experts would try to obtain fingerprints during the autopsy and that DNA tests would also take place.
Any fingerprints obtained would be sent to a specialist lab in Madrid along with the DNA test results to be analysed so formal legally-required confirmation of the men's identities can be obtained, he said.
Jota lifts the Premier League trophy
Jota was a key part of Liverpool's title-winning squad(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The crash happened in the tiny municipality of Cernadilla, which is home to just over 100 people. A town hall official told a local newspaper: "The news here has hit us like a ton of bricks. It seems that in the small municipalities tragedies like these always have to happen."
The A-52 highway where the crash happened was described by locals as "very dangerous". Town hall sources quoted by local press said: "As it passes through Cernadilla it is full of bends at 120 kilometres per hour. Exceeding the speed limit or poor visibility at night tend are often the cause of accidents in these areas."
Horrifying footage of the fireball-engulfed Lamborghini shows bright flames illuminate a section of the pitch black motorway. And pictures taken in the aftermath of the crash show the charred wreckage of the supercar, which was entirely gutted by fire.
Horrifying footage of the fireball emerged on Thursday
Horrifying footage of the fireball emerged on Thursday(Image: CNN)
It earlier emerged that Portuguese international Jota was heading to catch a ferry and return to the UK at the time of the tragedy after being advised not to take a plane due to a recent lung surgery.
The Zamora Provincial Council posted on Facebook that the fatal accident took place on the A-52 in Palacios de Sanabria, in the Spanish province of Zamora, which borders Portugal, at 12.40am local time.
In a statement, the authority: “A vehicle ran off the road and caught fire, which spread to the surrounding vegetation. The fire was put out by the fire brigade, which worked with health services and the Guardia Civil.
Article continues below
“Unfortunately, medics were only able to confirm the death of two young men, aged 28 and 26. From the Zamora Provincial Council and the Provincial Consortium we express our condolences to the families of the victims and thank all those involved for their work.”
Jota signed for Liverpool from Wolves for £45million in 2020 and scored 65 goals in 182 appearances. His final goal for the club was a winner in a Merseyside derby which helped them win their 20th league title.
The club said in a statement it was "devastated" by his "unimaginable loss".