Akshay - Thursday, Jul 03, 2025Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Felipe, 26, who played for Portugal's Penafiel football club, died in a traffic accident in Zamora, Spain on Thursday morning.
Jota was travelling with his brother overnight on the A52 highway through the municipality of Sernadilla. According to local media, at around 12:30am on Wednesday, following initial investigations, it is believed that the Lamborghini they were travelling in may have had a tyre burst while trying to overtake. This caused the car to go off the road, which proved fatal. The car caught fire, and the fire proved fatal for both Portuguese footballers.
The Spanish Civil Guard, the Zamora Provincial Council fire department and the emergency medical unit reported to the scene along with medical personnel, but they were unable to revive them.
"Everything points to the fact that when it (the vehicle) was overtaking, the tyre burst," the Civil Guard said in a statement. They said the bodies had been taken to a morgue.The Liverpool player was travelling with his brother just days after marrying his partner Ruta Cardoso on June 22. Jota and Cardoso had been together since 2012. The footballer leaves behind three children.
Jota joined Liverpool from Wolverhampton in 2020 for €44.7 million. Since then, he has played 182 games for the Merseyside club, scoring 65 goals and providing 26 assists. During that time, he won three titles with the Reds, a Premier League title (2024-25), an FA Cup title (2021-22), and a League Cup title (2021-22).
He also spent some time in Spain with Atletico Madrid. The Rojiblancos signed him from Pacos Ferreira in 2016 for €7 million. He scored during a friendly game, but was not selected for the senior team. That summer, he moved on loan to Porto. He then moved to Wolverhampton, also on loan, before making that move permanent in 2018 for €14 million.
