Diogo Jota's funeral tomorrow, relatives console devastated wife in heartbreaking scenes at Gondomar church
ByHT Sports Desk
Published on: Jul 04, 2025 06:30 PM IST
Diogo Jota's wife, Rute Cardoso, had to be consoled by family members and relatives. She had married her footballer partner of 10 years on June 22.
Tears, uneasy calm, hugs, prayers... The scenes at Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, a church in Gondomar, some 33 km from Porto, were heartbreaking. Family and friends started gathering at the chapel where Portugal and Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his brother's bodies were brought for a wake funeral. The funeral is set to take place on Saturday.
The father of Liverpool's Portuguese forward Diogo Jota is comforted by a woman during the wake for his two sons in Gondomar, on the outskirts of Porto(AFP)
The father of Liverpool's Portuguese forward Diogo Jota is comforted by a woman during the wake for his two sons in Gondomar, on the outskirts of Porto(AFP)
Diogo Jota's wife, Rute Cardoso, had to be consoled by family members and relatives. She had married her footballer partner of 10 years on June 22. The couple have three children, one of them born last year. Rute was devastated.
At Anfield in Liverpool, Former FC captain Jordan Henderson broke down while laying flowers and paying his last respects. Henderson and Jota played together at Liverpool between September 2020 and June 2023.
Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, André Silva, were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway just after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames.
Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family, Spanish government officials said.
Jota and his parents both have homes in Gondomar, where he started his playing career as a child. Gondomar is a working-class town next to Porto, where Jota was born.
Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve another vehicle, they said. His brother Silva played with Portuguese club Penafiel in the lower divisions.
Condolences poured in from Portuguese officials and the world of soccer as news of the accident spread.
Liverpool fans laid flower wreaths and team scarves outside Anfield stadium, while a moment of silence was held before Portugal played Spain at the Women's European Championship in Switzerland.
The loss was felt sharply in his hometown, especially at his first soccer club, where Jota started playing at age 9.
“He never forgot his roots, nor his friends, because he had a group of friends who were with him in the training here in Gondomar and who he even invited from time to time to go and watch Liverpool games in England," Gondomar SC director Anselmo Serra told The Associated Press. “They were like a group of friends that he never forgot over the years.”
Diogo Jota
Liverpool
Funeral
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