A moment of silence was observed in honour of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, before the Portugal vs. Spain match in the UEFA Women’s Euros on Thursday.
As the players assembled in the middle of the pitch silence fell over the Wankdorf Stadium in Switzerland. It followed a rousing rendition of the Portuguese national anthem, BBC reported.
Jota, 28, and his brother André, 25, also a professional footballer were killed in a car crash on Thursday midnight. The car they were travelling in veered off the highway near the northwest Spanish province of Zamora, near the town of Cernadilla. The siblings were driving a Lamborghini when a tyre blew out, causing the vehicle to go off the road and catch fire, Spain’s Civil Guard told the BBC.
Witnesses told the media that they observed the car catch fire and spread to surrounding foliage after calling Spain’s emergency services.
Tributes poured in from across the world for the Portuguese national.
Jota played for Wolverhampton, Liverpool, and Portugal in his football career. Tributes poured in the entire day for the man who was a “friend to everyone,” said Arne Slot, Liverpool’s manager.
Jota married his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso on June 22. The couple have three children.
Jota’s brother Andre played for Penafiel, a team in the Portuguese second division team.
Silva, a former Porto youth player, played 62 games for Penafiel. After joining from his native club, Gondomar, in 2023, he scored seven goals for the team. Silva also played for Padroense, Pacos de Ferreira, Famalicão, and Boavista when he was younger.
After progressing through Pacos’ youth ranks, Jota made his professional debut, scoring 15 goals in 45 games for the club.
He joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 in a £41m ($56m) transfer. He scored 65 goals for the Reds in 182 appearances. Jota helped Liverpool team win the Premier League title. He also won the FA Cup, Community Shield, and Carabao Cup twice for Liverpool. He made 49 appearances for Portugal, including last month’s win over Spain in the UEFA Nations League final.
“Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre,” the club said in a statement on X.
“Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss.
“We will continue to provide them with our full support.”
The Portuguese Football Federation said, “We have lost two champions.”
Cristiano Ronaldo shared a heartfelt tribute that the death of his Portugal teammate “doesn’t make sense”. “We will all miss you,” he added.