The devastated family and friends of Liverpool star Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva gathered for a moving funeral on Saturday, two days after their tragic deaths in a car crash in Spain.
Dozens of stars and high-profile figures from across the footballing world arrived for a sombre service in Gondomar, near Porto, tears flowing as they bade goodbye to the brothers. The service took place in the same church where Jota was married just 13 days earlier.
Jota, 28, a father of three, died alongside Silva, 25, when their Lamborghini flew off the side of the A-52 road in northwestern Spain and erupted in flames on Thursday following a suspected tyre blowout.
Footballing stars, legends and agents joined Jota’s visibly devastated family and his wife, Rute Cardoso, for the service. Ms Cardoso cut a distraught figure, weeping as she followed behind her late husband’s coffin as it was carried into the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and left-back Andy Robertson arrived with football shirt-shaped wreaths with Jota’s No 20 on the back, followed closely by manager Arne Slot and other players from the club, including Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez. Former players Jordan Henderson and James Milner also attended.
Premier League stars, including Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City, Joao Felix and Renato Veiga of Chelsea, Nelson Semedo from Wolves, and former Liverpool players Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara also joined for the service.
Ruben Neves, one of Jota’s closest friends with whom he played for both Wolves and Portugal, acted as a pallbearer for his coffin after flying in from Florida, where he had played a Club World Cup match the night before. Along with his Portuguese teammate Joao Cancelo, Neves was seen sobbing during a moment’s silence before Friday’s game.
After the service came to an end, “Ave Maria” was played on the loudspeakers as funeral goers spilt out of the church, embracing tearfully. The coffins were carried out of the church, Ms Cardoso helping lift Jota’s casket, leaning her head on it as the procession moved away.
Also in attendance were Porto president Andre Villas-Boas, Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, and former Portugal manager Fernando Santos.
“They are [have been] really sad days, as you can imagine, but today we have shown we are a very large, but close family,” Martinez told media outside the church, in a short interview broadcast on Sky Sports News.
“We are Portugal, and it was essential for us that [with] Andre Silva and Diogo Jota, we are together and we will always be together, and their spirit will be with us forever.
“Thank you very much for your messages, for your support and everything that we have received all over the world. It means a lot, and today we are all one football family.”
Silva told Portuguese broadcaster TVI: “I can’t even imagine the pain of the family, of Rute, of the children, of the parents.
“Jota will remain in our hearts forever. He will always be present at all breakfasts, lunches, dinners, national team gatherings, PlayStation or card games.
“It is a very tough episode for all of us, because we spent a lot of time together. The memories I have with him are fantastic. These happy memories will remain; he will be present in every victory.”
The crash occurred after a tyre blowout while the car was overtaking another, Spain’s Civil Guard said on Thursday.
The car, reported to be a Lamborghini, left the side of the road and erupted in flames. It is unknown which brother was driving.
Jota was returning to the UK to join pre-season training with Liverpool, after undergoing a minor operation in Portugal. Due to his recent surgery, he had reportedly been advised to take the ferry rather than travel by plane.
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