Diogo Jota posted a heartbreaking message commemorating his wedding less than 24 hours before his tragic passing.
The fan-favourite Liverpool forward died in a car accident aged 28 in a devastating incident that also killed his brother, Andre.
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The incident occurred while they were travelling from Penafiel on the A-52 in the Spanish province of Zamora on Thursday morning.
A Liverpool statement read: “Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.
“The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.
“Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss.
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“We will continue to provide them with our full support.”
Jota’s tragic death came just two weeks after he married long-term girlfriend Rute Cardoso in Portugal.
The couple have been in a relationship since 2012 and have three children together.
Jota, who proposed to his childhood sweetheart Rute in July 2022 in a video shared on social media, tied the knot last month on June 22.
The former Wolves star shared a montage of the ceremony on his Instagram last night, tagging his wife in the emotional post.
Jota also wrote a simple caption, saying: “A day we will never forget”, alongside a white heart emoji.
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The video has typically been inundated by fans paying tribute to Jota, following the announcement of his untimely passing.
It followed a previous post by his partner Rute, who had shared pictures from their wedding ceremony last month.
The pair had been pictured in front of the altar with their children, with Jota in a navy suit, while his wife wore a stunning white dress.
In the caption, they said: “June 22, 2025. Yes to forever.”
That Instagram post received over 190,000 likes and over 1,000 comments, including support from their Liverpool teammates.
Fellow Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and Natalia Becker, wife of goalkeeper Alisson, posted love heart emojis in the comments.
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Liverpool legend Danny Murphy reacted to Jota’s death, live on talkSPORT, saying: “Heartbreaking, I was shocked, like all of us.
“We all love football, winning, losing, players your team should sign, but it all becomes irrelevant when you hear news like this.
“Liverpool seem to have to deal with tragedies over the years, but the Liverpool family will come together as they always do.
“There’s a togetherness in this city. They will have to come together and try and use this to inspire them and kick on for Diogo.
“I can’t imagine what these players are going through. I never had to deal with losing one of my teammates.”
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Stuart Pearce added: “I was on the coaching staff at Manchester City and Marc-Vivien Foé was one of our players and lost his life on a football pitch.
“And the impact that had around the football club in the dressing room with teammates was just immense.
“Liverpool have probably had one of the biggest highs that they’ve had winning the Premier League this summer and then obviously the traffic incident at the celebrations, followed by this as well.
“The highs and lows of life, if you like, are there for all to see in many ways.
“Listen, I never knew Diogo, I’ve never met him before, but the impact it sort of had for everybody, the state of shock is quite incredible because of his age, because he was in his prime, because of his brother being with him at the time as well, you know, two members from the same family. It’s just horrific.”
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Jota, who moved to Merseyside from Wolves in a £45million deal in 2020, quickly endeared himself to the Anfield faithful.
He scored his first goal for the club on his home debut in a 3-1 Premier League win over Arsenal in September 2020.
Jota went on to find the net another 64 times in 182 appearances for the Reds.
This included the nine he scored last season, as Liverpool won the Premier League.
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Jota scored the first official goal of the Arne Slot era last August, opening the scoring in a 2-0 win away at Ipswich Town.
His final strike was the matchwinner in a 1-0 victory over local rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby at the start of April.
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The last of his 182 appearances for Liverpool came as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on the final game of last season, as the Reds lifted the title.
Jota then helped Portugal lift the Nations League last month, appearing in the penalty shootout triumph over Spain.
