Diogo Jota death latest: Liverpool star’s final hours revealed as vigil held before funeral

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The Independent

·4 juillet 2025

Diogo Jota death latest: Liverpool star’s final hours revealed as vigil held before funeral

Huge scale of Liverpool tributes to Jota at Anfield in drone footage

Diogo Jota’s physiotherapist has denied that Liverpool FC’s forward was partying before he was killed in a tragic car crash on Thursday.

Vidéos OneFootball

Respiratory physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves said Jota was an “unparalleled professional” who was “excited, confident in his recovery and enthusiastic” for the upcoming season.

The footballer had been travelling in a Lamborghini with his brother Andre Silva when the car veered off the road and burst into flames following what police suspect was a tyre blowout while overtaking.

Dr Goncalves told Portuguese outlet Record: “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.

“Diogo and Andre weren’t partying at all, they weren’t in the so-called ‘good mood’ life, they had nothing that deserved any repair. Nothing.”

A wake for the brothers will take place at 8am at the nearby Capela da Ressurreicao before their funeral at the Igreja Matriz on Saturday at 10am, parish priest Jose Manuel Macedo said.

A vigil will also be held at the Chapel of Resurrection in Gondomar, Jota and Silva's hometown on the outskirts of Porto, today.

Pictured: Liverpool fans lay wreaths outside Anfield

Diogo Jota’s funeral will take place on Saturday with local mourners paying tribute on Friday (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 12:30

Pictured: Portugal's PM Luis Montenegro arrives near the Chapel of the Resurrection

(Reuters)

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 12:15

Diogo Jota speaks of his love and passion for Liverpool in unseen clip: 'I put all my life into football'

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 12:00

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said the country had lost 'one of its heroes'

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said the country had lost “one of its heroes”.

“We feel the family’s pain and, in this tragedy, we question life in general,” he said in a video released by the Portuguese Football Federation.

“We have created a family in the national team that goes far beyond football and Diogo is an important part of that – on and off the field.

“Portugal will miss one of its heroes.”

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 11:40

Pictured: People mourn Diogo Jota at the Chapel of Resurrection

(Reuters)

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 11:30

Liverpool say Diogo Jota’s No 20 shirt will be ’immortalised

Liverpool say Diogo Jota’s No 20 shirt will be ‘immortalised’

The club may choose to retire Jota’s shirt number after the 28-year-old died in a car crash in Spain

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 11:20

What we know so far

If you’re just joining us, here’s a summary of what we know about Diogo Jota’s death so far:

Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silver were driving from Porto to board a ferry to the UK.
At around 12:30am local time the brothers crashed on the A-52 in Palacios de Sanabria near the city of Zamora in Spain.
Spain's Guardia Civil said this could have been due to a tyre blowout while overtaking another car.
The Lamborghini they were in then set on fire.
The 28-year-old was reportedly told not to fly from Portugal back to Liverpool for pre-season training after undergoing minor surgery, the BBC reported.
The incident happened just 11 days after Jota, a father of three, married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, in Porto, Portugal.

(Liverpool FC)

Tributes are flooding in for the pair from vast numbers of former players, clubs, sporting figures, and footballing fans, who just months earlier witnessed Jota win his first Premier League title.

In Liverpool, fans have gathered outside Anfield to lay tributes and mourn.
Liverpool FC said the club is “devastated” at the “unimaginable loss” while the Portuguese Football Federation added: “We have lost two champions.”
In a heartfelt tribute, Cristiano Ronaldo said the death of his Portugal teammate “doesn't make sense”. “We will all miss you,” he added.

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 11:00

Diogo Jota: The fan favourite who achieved more than he ever dreamed possible

The caption is more poignant now, even as the words have proved horribly wrong. “Yes to forever,” wrote Diogo Jota, accompanying social-media pictures of his wedding to his long-time partner Rute Cardoso. Within two weeks, Jota’s forever had ended, the Liverpool and Portugal forward killed in a car crash in Spain, along with his brother Andre Silva. His new wife is already a widow, his three young children left without a father.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Cristiano Ronaldo, his Portugal captain. There is a feeling of shock whenever a life is suddenly cruelly cut short, and Jota was just 28. It is still greater when someone has seemed as full of life as Jota did.

The Independent’s Senior Football Correspondent, Richard Jolly, writes:

Diogo Jota: The fan favourite who achieved more than he ever dreamed possible

The forward lifted trophies in his final games for both Liverpool and Portugal, writes Richard Jolly, two highlights of a career the little Portuguese dribbler never thought possible as a teenager who simply loved to play

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 10:50

Recap: Jamie Carragher 'in state of shock' after Jota's death

Jamie Carragher has said he is “in a state of shock” after Diogo Jota’s death.

Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool player said: “Just in a state of shock really. I think, not just with anyone associated with Liverpool but football in general. It’s a time when we’ll come together as football fans. I just can’t believe the news today.

“It’s so sad for everybody in involved but especially his family, his wife and the three children they’ve got. It’s devastating for all involved.

“I don’t know the current players particularly well so won’t pretend to know Diogo. He lived close but kept himself to himself. He came across, probably, not in the typical way people describe Premier League footballers. He seemed humble, a real family man. "He did his business on the pitch and was quiet and humble off the pitch. A great guy and a great footballer.

“It’s really difficult to find the words to say about him. More importantly right now it’s not about the football or Liverpool, it’s about his family and what they’re going through.”

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 10:30

Manchester City 'shocked and saddened' at Diogo Jota's death

Manchester City has said everyone at the club is “shocked and saddened” to learn of Diogo Jota’s death.

In a statement, the club said: “Everyone at Manchester City is shocked and saddened to learn about the devastating news regarding the passing of Diogo Jota.

“We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends and everyone at Liverpool Football Club at this difficult time.

Alexander Butler4 July 2025 10:20