Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva’s bodies arrived in their hometown ahead of the funeral following their deaths in a car accident on Thursday morning
10:33, 04 Jul 2025
Bodies of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva arrived at the funeral home
The bodies of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva arrived at the funeral home(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The bodies of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva have arrived in their hometown ahead of the funeral.
Jota, 28, and Silva, 25, died in a horror car crash in Spain on Thursday morning. Police say the tyre of the Portuguese star’s Lamborghini blew out while overtaking, causing the car to spin into a barrier and burst into flames.
Firefighters were called to put out the blaze, which is said to have spread to the surrounding vegetated area, at around 00:30 local time in the Spanish province of Zamora. However, they were not able to save the two footballers’ lives.
The bodies of the two men were greeted by heartbroken supporters and applause as their coffins arrived at a church in Portugal.
Crowds had gathered outside the church last night before the hearses transporting the bodies arrived after 11pm.
Two Portuguese hearses are seen outside the funeral home in the Spanish town of Puebla de Sanabria, northwestern Spain, where the bodies of Liverpool's Portuguese forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Felipe were taken following their death in a car accident
The bodies of the footballers arrived back in their hometown(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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Jota’s grieving wife Rute Cardoso arrived in tears at the morgue just 11 days after marrying her childhood sweetheart. She was joined by the two footballers’ mother and Jota’s agent, Jorge Mendes.
Mendes accompanied the players’ mother as they entered the funeral home and told reporters outside it was a “very difficult” time.
“We lost two great people. Diogo is an example as a person, husband, son, professional. I still can't believe it, it's very difficult,” Mendes said as he was unable to hold back tears.
Debris and burn marks remain on the A-52 motorway in Spain at the crash site
Debris and burn marks remain on the A-52 motorway in Spain at the crash site(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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Mourners will gather in Portugal on Friday morning for Jota’s wake following the father of three’s tragic death.
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Jose Manuel Macedo, the parish priest at Igreja Matriz de Gondomar in Sao Cosme, told PA news agency that the wake for the brothers is set for 8am at the Capela da Ressurreicao, with their funeral following on Saturday at 10am at the Igreja Matriz.
Jota's football career began at a local club in Gondomar, where he also met his wife. It remains unclear whether the family will request a private ceremony or a more public service.