By Mark Atkinson
Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota has died at the age of 28 following a car crash in north-western Spain. Jota was involved in a road traffic accident in Zamora alongside his brother Andre Silva, with both men killed in the tragedy. In a statement, the emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region said: “The 112 Castilla y Le贸n operations room received several calls reporting a vehicle accident at Km. 65 of the A-52, in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora. “A car was reported to have been involved in an accident and the vehicle was on fire. 112 notified the Zamora Traffic Police, the Zamora Provincial Council Fire Brigade, and the Sacyl Emergency Coordination Center (CCU) of this accident. “From there, a Medical Emergency Unit (UME) and the Primary Care Medical Staff (MAP) from the Mombuey Health Center were sent, who confirmed the death of two people on the scene.” A Portuguese internationalist with 49 caps, Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 and helped them win the English Premier League title last season. Born in Porto, Jota started his senior career at Pacos de Ferreira and moved to Atletico Madrid in 2016. He spent two seasons in the Spanish capital before moving to his hometown club on loan and then Wolves, where he helped them achieve promotion to the Premier League. He earned a 拢40 million move to Liverpool in 2020. Jota鈥檚 final match was as a substitute for Portugal in their Nations League final triumph over Spain last month. Jota married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso less than two weeks ago and the couple are reported to have three children. His death was confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation, who paid tribute to Jota in a moving statement. It read: 鈥淭he Portuguese Football Federation and the entire Portuguese football community are completely devastated by the death of Diogo Jota and his brother Andr茅 Silva, this morning in Spain. 鈥淢uch more than a fantastic player, who played almost 50 times for the National A Team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all his teammates and opponents, someone with an infectious joy and a reference in the community itself. 鈥淭he Portuguese Football Federation expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and Andr茅 Silva, as well as to Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs where the players played respectively. 鈥淭he Portuguese Football Federation has already asked UEFA for a minute’s silence this Thursday, before our team’s match against Spain in the Women’s European Championship. 鈥淲e have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and Andr茅 Silva represents an irreparable loss for Portuguese football and we will do everything we can to honour their legacy every day.鈥