Liverpool soccer star Diogo Jota, brother die in Spain car
Portuguese forward Diogo Jota (C), who was killed in a car crash in Spain on Thursday, joined Liverpool in 2020. File Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE
July 3 (UPI) — Liverpool forward Diogo Jota died from a single-car crash in Spain that also killed his brother, Andre Silva, the English Premier League soccer franchise and local officials announced Thursday. He was 28.
“Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota,” the Reds said in a news release.
The Spanish Civil Guard said Jota and Silva were inside a Lamborghini when its tire blew in Zamora. The car veered off the road and caught fire, killing its occupants at about 12:30 a.m. local time.
The regional fire department of Castile and Leon also confirmed the crash.
Jota, who was married just two weeks ago, has three children. The veteran forward joined Liverpool in 2020. He previously played at Pacos de Ferreira of Portugal’s second tier, Spanish La Liga club Atletico Madrid, Porto of Portugal’s Primeira Liga and for the Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Jota made 49 appearances for the Portugal men’s national team, where he teamed up with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Silva, who was 25, played at FC Penafiel, a second-tier club in Portugal.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Ronaldo wrote Thursday on social media. “Just now we were together in the national team, just now you were married. To your family, to your wife and children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them.
“R.I.P. Diogo and Andre We will all miss you.”
The Portuguese Football Federation requested for UEFA to hold a moment of silence Thursday before a game between Portugal and Spain in the Women’s Euro 2025 tournament at 3 p.m. EDT in Bern, Switzerland.
“We have lost two champions,” the Portuguese Football Federation said. “The passing of Diogo and Andre Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese Football, and we will do everything to honor their legacy daily.”
The Reds said they would make no further comment and requested privacy for the Jota family, friends, teammates and staffs as they “come to terms with an unimaginable loss.”
“The news of the death of Diogo Jota, an athlete who greatly honored Portugal’s name, and his brother is unexpected and tragic,” Portugal Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said in a statement. “I extend my deepest condolences to their family.
“It is a sad day for football and for national and international sports.”
Michael Madsen
Actor Michael Madsen arrives on the red carpet for the closing ceremony of the Monte Carlo Television Festival in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on June 14, 2012. Madsen, best known for starring in films such as “Reservoir Dogs,” “Kill Bill,” “Sin City,” “Thelma & Louise” and “Donnie Brasco,” died at the age of 67 on July 3. Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo