Diogo Jota and his brother Andre will be laid to rest at a service in Portugal
File photo dated 12/11/23 of Diogo Jota. The Portuguese Football Federation has announced it is ‘devastated’ by the death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in Spain this morning. Issue date: Thursday July 3, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Diogo Jota and his brother Andre will be laid to rest at a service in Portugal on Saturday
(Image: PA)
The bodies of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre will be laid to rest at a service in Portugal on Saturday morning. The Liverpool striker was travelling with his younger sibling in northern Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning when his car was involved in a fatal crash.
It's been reported the accident, on the A52 known Palacios de Sanabria, near the city of Zamora, was the result of a blown-out tyre as Jota and Andre Silva, himself a player for Portuguese side Penafiel, were making their way toward a ferry that was bound for the UK ahead of a return to pre-season training.
The bodies of both footballers were returned to their native Portugal on Thursday evening and a wake is scheduled in Gondomar, a district of Porto, on Friday (July 4) ahead of a funeral service at Igreja Matriz de Gondomar (the Mother Church of Gondomar) on Saturday (July 5)
Friday's wake will be held at Capelas da Ressurreicao (Chapels of the Resurrection) church, in the Fontainhas neighborhood and mourners have been gathering on the streets of Porto to pay tribute to a national hero.
Jose Manuel Macedo, parish priest at Igreja Matriz, told CNN Portugal: "The bodies of the two brothers will be taken to the Easter chapel to pray tomorrow and then there will be a funeral. We are ready to join people in remembering their lives. At the same time, we share the pain, as well as the hope of the believers."
Portugal's President of the Assembly, Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco, explained how Jota was an example to the people of Portugal, saying: "It is very sad news for national and international sport.
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva. As a footballer, Diogo Jota has always represented the Portuguese national football team with great pride.
"He has great talent and hard work, becoming an example for many young people because of the way he pursues his career. In the National Assembly, on July 4, a vote of condolence will be held, I will present, in memory of these two young men and the legacy they left for the national sport."
Dr Miguel Goncalves had been working with Jota ahead of the Reds star's return to pre-season training and speaking to Portuguese outlet Record said the Portugal international was an “unparalleled professional” who was eager to get started for the new campaign.
Dr Goncalves said: "I said goodbye to him and his brother, Andre, at around 8.30pm. His brother was a great companion and decided to go with him, to accompany him on the trip, and that way they would also spend more time together. They were going to travel at night because it was cooler, but they weren’t going direct.
"He told me that the journey would take about eight hours, but that they would stop at a hotel in the Burgos area to rest. Diogo was very aware of his professionalism. They were only supposed to arrive in Santander today, catch the boat and then go to England.
"The family would arrive later by plane, organize their lives over the weekend and then, on Monday, they had a medical appointment scheduled in Liverpool to assess the situation."
Dr Goncalves also claimed Jota was receiving specialist treatment over a collapsed lung but had made an "extraordinary recovery", adding: "I started working with him last Saturday and I was with him every day until this Wednesday. I said goodbye to him at dinner time.
"He made an extraordinary recovery, he was undoubtedly an unparalleled professional. He strictly followed what I told him, as you could see in the way he was recovering.
"The base of his right lung had collapsed a little, but with the post-surgery physiotherapy he was practically flawless. When I left him yesterday he was no longer in pain and was going to return to Liverpool.
"He was excited, confident in his recovery and enthusiastic about the next season. He told me that he would not go on the pre-season tour that Liverpool is going to Japan to strengthen his recovery, he believed he was going to have a great season."
Jota, who won the Premier League title with the Reds last season before lifting the UEFA Nations League in June with Portugal, married long-term partner Rute Cardoso on June 22 at a ceremony attended by their three children.
Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes, who heads up the Gestifute agency who represented Jota, said: "We lost two great people. Diogo is an example as a person, husband, son, and professional. I still can't believe it, it's very difficult."