Sports Desk

Family and friends of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva gathered on Friday at a chapel in Portugal ahead of the wake and funeral, following the tragic car crash that claimed their lives in Spain.

Mourners hugged and wept as they arrived at the Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, where funeral services for the brothers are scheduled to take place on Saturday.

Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother were killed when their Lamborghini crashed on an isolated stretch of highway near Zamora in northwestern Spain just after midnight on Thursday. The vehicle burst into flames following the accident.

 Spanish authorities confirmed the brothers’ identities after their bodies were repatriated to Portugal.

Jota, a native of Porto, began his football journey in Gondomar, a working-class town neighbouring the city. He and his parents maintained homes there, keeping close ties with the community where his career began.

The tragedy occurred just two weeks after Jota married his long-time partner, Rute Cardoso, during a holiday break following a demanding football season. Jota, who played a key role in Liverpool’s recent Premier League title triumph, leaves behind his wife and their three children, the youngest born last year.

Spanish police confirmed they are investigating the cause of the crash, noting that no other vehicles were involved.

André Silva, Jota’s younger brother, was also a footballer, playing for Portuguese lower-division side Penafiel.

Following the news, condolences poured in from across Portugal and the global football community. Liverpool fans laid floral tributes and team scarves outside Anfield stadium, while a moment of silence was observed before Portugal’s match against Spain at the Women’s European Championship in Switzerland.

In Gondomar, where Jota started playing football at the age of nine, the loss was deeply felt.

“He never forgot his roots, nor his friends, because he had a group of friends who were with him in the training here in Gondomar and who he even invited from time to time to go and watch Liverpool games in England,” said Anselmo Serra, director of Gondomar SC, speaking to The Associated Press. “They were like a group of friends that he never forgot over the years.”