Liverpool’s Portuguese forward Diogo Jota dies in car crash

AFP, Madrid:

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother died in a car crash in northwestern Spain on Thursday, police said, weeks after the Portugal star got married and sparking a flood of tributes.
The Civil Guard said a vehicle veered off a motorway and burst into flames shortly after midnight in the municipality of Cernadilla in Zamora province, confirming the deaths of Jota, 28, and his brother Andre.
“Everything points to the blowout of a tyre while it (the vehicle) was overtaking,” the Civil Guard said in a statement, adding that the corpses had been taken to a morgue.
Portuguese Football Federation President Pedro Proenca wrote on social media that he was “devastated”, calling Jota “an extraordinary person, respected by all his colleagues and opponents, someone blessed with an infectious joy and a reference for his own community”.
“We have lost two champions. The death of Diogo and Andre Silva are irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything possible to honour their legacy every day,” Proenca added.
He said they had asked UEFA for a minute’s silence before Portugal’s Women’s Euro 2025 match against Spain in Switzerland on Thursday.
Liverpool said it was “devastated” by the “unimaginable loss” and that it would make no further comment for the privacy of the brothers’ family, friends, teammates and club staff.
“We will continue to provide them with our full support,” Liverpool added in a statement.