Liverpool and Portugal soccer player Diogo Jota has died in a car crash with his younger brother, André Silva.
The soccer star was 28 years old and had just married Rute Cardoso two weeks earlier. The couple had three children together.
The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed to The Associated Press that Jota and his brother were found dead after their car veered off an isolated stretch of highway about an hour west of Zamora, Spain. Police said the vehicle was engulfed in flames.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred shortly after midnight local time. No other vehicles were involved, and the bodies are undergoing forensic analysis.
Soccer fans around the world are mourning today following the heartbreaking news. Jota had 49 caps for the Portuguese national team and won the Premier League title with Liverpool last season.
"The Portuguese Football Federation and all the Portuguese football are completely devastated by the death of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva this morning in Spain," the federation said in a statement. "Much more than a fantastic player with nearly 50 caps for the national team, Diogo Joto was an extraordinary person, respected by colleagues and adversaries, someone with a contagious joy and a reference in his own community."
"I am deeply saddened to hear of the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva. Aged just 28, Diogo had enjoyed a fantastic career to date and had many great years ahead of him, while his brother André was thriving at FC Penafiel-they will both be so sorely missed by all those who knew them and by the worldwide football community.
"On behalf of FIFA and the wider football family, my thoughts are with their family and friends, as well as everyone at Liverpool FC, FC Penafiel and the Portuguese Football Federation. May they rest in peace," FIFA President Gianni Infantino shared in a statement.
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