Liverpool star Diogo Jota has died at the age of 28 after his Lamborghini careered off a road in northern Spain – just two weeks after he married his childhood sweetheart.
The Portuguese forward was travelling in the supercar with his younger brother Andre, 26, a fellow professional footballer who also died in the crash in the early hours of this morning.
The tyre of the Lamborghini is said to have blown out while overtaking on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora in northwestern Spain, close to the border with Portugal.
The supercar came off the road, rolled and then burst into flames at around 12.35am, also igniting the surrounding vegetation. The emergency services were called but the brothers could not be saved. Police say they don’t yet know who was driving.
Liverpool FC said in a statement that the club is ‘devastated’ by the tragedy and that Diogo’s family, friends and fans had suffered an ‘unimaginable loss’. Flowers and tributes are being laid outside Anfield today, with many fans in tears.
Jota had just married Rute Cardoso, the 28-year-old mother of his three children and partner since the age of 16. He had described himself as the luckiest man in the world to be her husband, sharing moving footage of their wedding day in his final Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.
The couple married on June 22 in Porto, the footballer’s home city. Rute shared more wedding day pictures in a social media post yesterday and said: ‘My dream come true.’ Jota replied in the comments: ‘I’m the lucky one.’
The Lamborghini crash happened on the A-52 in the province of Zamora. The Spanish dual carriageway is a key route taken by drivers after leaving northern Portugal as they head for the ports of Santander and Bilbao or drive north-east towards France.
Emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region confirmed the crash and two fatalities at around 12.35am on Thursday morning. Diogo and Andre’s deaths were then confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation at around 8am.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Jota’s friend and teammate and Portugal’s greatest player, said today: ‘It doesn’t make any sense. Just now we were together for the national team, you were just 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. RIP. Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you’.
Diogo Jota had married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, in the last fortnight. Here they are pictured on their wedding day
The remains of the Lamborghini that contained Diogo Jota and his brother Andre. Paramedics fought to save the men after the crash at around 12.35am today
The supercar crashed and caught fire, also igniting the surrounding vegetation
Lines can be seen on the road today where the Lamborghini overtook a car and then straight into the crash barriers
The couple have three children, pictured on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League
Diogo’s brother Andre, 26, was also a footballer and died in the crash
Jota pictured (far right) with his wife Rute and younger brother Andre, also a professional footballer
Diogo’s new wife Rute shared more wedding day pictures in a social media post yesterday and said: ‘My dream come true.’ Jota replied in the comments: ‘I’m the lucky one.’
