MADRID, SPAIN – Portuguese Liverpool striker Diogo Jota (28) and his brother, also a footballer, died in an accident on a road in northwest Spain early this morning, when their vehicle left the road and caught fire, police reported.
According to police, the vehicle veered off a motorway, likely due to a tyre blowout, and subsequently caught fire, killing both occupants.
“The vehicle that the brothers were travelling in left the road, everything points to a tire blowout while the car was overtaking another. As a result of the accident, the car caught fire, killing both occupants,” the police said in a statement.
The incident occurred at 00:30 local time on Thursday on a highway near the city of Zamora, in the region of Castilla y León.
Jota’s brother André Teixeira da Silva (26), also a football player, played for Penafiel in Portugal’s second division.
This tragedy comes just two weeks after Jota had married his partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he has three children.
Jota had been a Liverpool player since 2020 and was a key figure for both his club and the Portuguese national team.
The Portuguese Football Federation lamented his death on social network X, stating that in addition to being “a fantastic player, with almost 50 caps for the national team, he was an extraordinary person, respected by all his teammates and opponents.
“The deaths of Diogo and André represents irreparable losses for Portuguese football and we will do everything possible to honor their legacy daily,” added the federation, which said it had requested UEFA for a minute of silence this Thursday before Portugal’s match against Spain in the women’s Euro.
