Liverpool FC on Thursday lost its prized forward, Diogo Jota in a car crash after doctors reportedly told him to drive 10 hours to a Spanish ferry rather than fly to the UK.
Jota was killed with his brother Andre Silva as fire engulfed his £180,000 Lamborghini which suffered a tyre blowout while overtaking in the Spanish province of Zamora. The 28-year-old father-of-three had married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso just 11 days earlier.
The Telegraph understands Jota was 190 miles into a trip from Porto to Santander because of medical advice to avoid taking a plane back to pre-season training.
Jota played 27 minutes of his country’s 2-1 win over Czech Republic last month but is said to have then undergone minor surgery which was lung-related. He had suffered a rib injury while playing against Chelsea in October last season which forced him to miss almost two months of Liverpool’s successful Premier League title charge.
It is unclear where he was given advice to avoid flying. One claimed Jota had also travelled out of the UK to his native Porto via the Plymouth to Santander ferry.
On Thursday the football world was reeling by the “tragic loss” of a renowned talent at the peak of his playing career.
A Liverpool statement said the club was “devastated” and that it was an “unimaginable loss”.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke very movingly, saying: “What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and pain is so incredibly raw? I wish I had the words but I do not.
“All I have are feelings that I know so many people will share about a person and player we loved dearly and a family we care so much about.
“My first thoughts are not those of a football manager. They are of a father, a son, a brother and an uncle and they belong to the family of Diogo and Andre Silva who have experienced such an unimaginable loss. My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone.
“The last time we spoke, I congratulated Diogo on winning the Nations League and wished him luck for his forthcoming wedding. In many ways, it was a dream summer for Diogo and his family, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that it should end like this.
“When the time is right, we will celebrate Diogo Jota, we will remember his goals and we will sing his song. For the time being, we will remember him as a unique human being and mourn his loss.”
The Prince of Wales, patron of the FA, also paid tribute, saying he was “deeply saddened”. Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal national team’s captain, said Jota’s death “doesn’t make sense”.
Jota scored 65 goals in 182 games for Liverpool, with whom he won a Premier League title, the League Cup and the FA Cup, having joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2020. He also made 49 appearances for Portugal, scoring 14 goals, and was part of the side which won the Nations League last month.
Jota and his 26-year-old brother were found dead in the wreckage on the A-52 in Palacios de Sanabria shortly after midnight. Witnesses who called 112 [the local emergency number] said the car was engulfed in flames and also caused a blaze in nearby vegetation.
Sources from the government sub-delegation in Zamora immediately confirmed “a possible speeding incident” was being looked at. Other insiders told The Telegraph that Jota’s family had flown back to the UK separately. The car involved is believed to be a green Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder, which has a top speed of 200mph and 0-60mph time of 3.1 seconds. Police have yet to establish who was driving.
Jota, who was due to return to Liverpool’s pre-season training next week, had married his long-term partner two weeks ago in a Catholic service packed with family and friends in Porto.
The couple had been an item for more than a decade and had two sons and most recently a daughter born in November. He shared many family photographs on his Instagram account, while his wife has posted images of their holidays in Dubai and Lapland.
It is most likely Jota and his brother, who also played football at lower levels, were intending to board a Brittany Ferries service from Santander to Plymouth, which left at 4pm on Thursday, arriving in Devon at 11.15am on Friday.
CNN Portugal’s sports editor Rui Loura had been first to report he had been advised against flying. “The surgery he had was lung surgery and he had been advised against flying following this,” Loura added. “He was on his way to the northern Spanish port city of Santander to cross by ferry and reach the UK that way and carry on with the car once he reached Britain.” Others suggested he had previously avoided flying because of “pulmonary discomfort”.
Zamora, close to the Portuguese border, is about halfway between Porto and the port of Santander by road. Spain’s Civil Guard said “everything points to a tyre blowout while overtaking”.
The identities of the bodies will not be fully verified until after forensic tests.
Andre Silva most recently played for Penafiel in Portugal’s second division. He previously played for the youth teams of FC Porto, where his brother spent a season on loan.
The Telegraph UK
