By Al Jazeera Apps Support
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has died following a car crash in Spain, according to a Spanish police report.
The incident occurred on the A-52 highway in the province of Zamora.
The regional fire department of Castile and Leon, where Zamora is located, said on its website that a car crashed shortly after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames, with two men, aged 28 and 26, found dead.
Jota, 28, had been travelling in the car with his brother Andre, 26, also a footballer, when the vehicle went off the road, according to the reporting by Portugal鈥檚 public broadcaster, TVE.
The tragedy comes just two weeks after Jota married his long-term girlfriend Rute Cardoso in his native Portugal.
Jota signed for Liverpool in September 2020 from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of 45 million British pounds ($61.5m).
He appeared in 182 matches for Liverpool across all competitions, scoring 65 goals and dishing out 22 assists.
Jota also made 49 appearances for Portugal, twice winning the UEFA Nations League.
Portugal鈥檚 Prime Minister Luis Montenegro confirmed the news of Jota鈥檚 death on Thursday in a post released on the social media platform X.
鈥淭he news of the death of Diogo Jota, an athlete who greatly honoured Portugal鈥檚 name, and his brother is unexpected and tragic. I extend my deepest condolences to their family. It is a sad day for football and for national and international sports鈥, said Montenegro.
A not铆cia da morte de Diogo Jota, um atleta que muito honrou o nome de Portugal, e do seu irm茫o 茅 inesperada e tr谩gica. Deixo aos familiares as mais sentidas condol锚ncias. 脡 um dia triste para o futebol e para o desporto nacional e internacional.
鈥 Lu铆s Montenegro (@LMontenegro_PT) July 3, 2025