Diogo Jota, a 28-year-old Liverpool star, dies in an automobile accident

The forward for Liverpool and Portugal went suddenly Thursday morning after an accident in Spain.

When Jota and his brother Andre, a 26-year-old soccer player for Pennafiel, a Portuguese second division team, were driving in the western Spanish province of Zamora, their car broke down.

The collision near Palacios de Sanabria on the Rias Bajas Highway also claimed Andre’s life.
While passing another car, the Guardia Civil’s Lamborghini’s tires blew out, causing it to catch fire, as they verified to the BBC.

His longtime love, Rute Cardoso, married Jota two weeks ago, and he shared pictures from their wedding on social media.

The mother of three, Jota, posted a set of pictures from their wedding day on X along with the caption, “June 22, 2025.” Forever, yes.

Jota acknowledged that he had exceeded his own ambitions in his soccer career before that.
The athlete, who moved to England in 2017 after starting his career in Portugal, never dreamed he would become a world-class athlete.

He said, “This hunger has been with me ever since I can remember,” to Sky Sports earlier this year.

Growing up, I didn’t play for any of the major teams. Some of my teammates attended Porto or Benfica. Despite my difficulties there, I never stayed. Although I was never the best, I was among the better ones.

“I never let that chance go away again once I had it before. We always believe while we’re young, I think. However, I doubt I thought I could make it to Liverpool. I simply took things day by day.

In September 2020, Jota joined Liverpool, and earlier this year, he contributed to the Reds’ 20th league championship. Along with scoring 14 goals, the forward earned 49 caps for the Portuguese national team. 

Jota made a cameo during Portugal’s June 8 victory over Spain in the Nations League.