The football world is in shock and mourning following the confirmation that Premier League star Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, a professional player for Portuguese side Penafiel, have tragically died in a car accident in Spain.
Police confirmed to The Athletic that the incident occurred at approximately 00:30 local time on Thursday morning on the A-52 carriageway, which runs from Madrid to the Spanish province of Galicia. The accident took place in the province of Zamora, in north-west Spain.
Authorities reported that the car, occupied by 28-year-old Jota and 26-year-old Silva, veered off the road and suffered a severe impact, causing the vehicle to catch fire.
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Jota had recently married Rute Cardoso in his hometown of Porto, in northern Portugal, located about 300km west of Zamora.
Liverpool FC issued a statement on Thursday, expressing their profound grief: “Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and André’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss. We will continue to provide them with our full support.”
Pedro Proença, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, conveyed the widespread devastation felt across Portuguese football. “Much more than a fantastic player, with almost 50 caps for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all his team-mates and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference point in his own community,” read his statement, which also offered condolences to Liverpool and Penafiel.
Proença added, “On behalf of myself and the Portuguese Football Federation, I would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and André Silva, as well as to Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs the players played for respectively. The Portuguese Football Federation has already asked UEFA to hold a minute’s silence this Thursday ahead of our national team’s match against Spain in the Women’s European Championship. We’ve lost two champions. The deaths of Diogo and André Silva represent irreparable losses for Portuguese football and we will do everything we can to honour their legacy on a daily basis.”
Diogo Jota signed for Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2020 for a fee of £45 million. He quickly became a key player under former manager Jurgen Klopp, contributing to the team’s FA Cup and Carabao Cup triumphs in his second season, and reaching the Champions League final.
Versatile as a centre-forward and winger, Jota made 182 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 65 goals. In the 2024-25 season, under new head coach Arne Slot, Jota scored nine goals in all competitions as Liverpool secured the Premier League title, the first league title of his career.
Jota began his professional career with Pacos de Ferreira in 2014, making 47 appearances. He was signed by Atletico Madrid in 2016 but was loaned to Porto, where he scored nine goals in 38 appearances.
In 2017, he joined then-Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan, helping them achieve promotion to the Premier League. His move to Molineux was made permanent in January 2018. He scored 44 goals in 131 appearances for Wolves, contributing to their best-ever Premier League finish of seventh and qualification for the Europa League. A Portugal international since 2019, Jota earned 49 caps and scored 14 goals, winning the UEFA Nations League in both 2019 and 2025.
André Silva, Jota’s younger brother, played as a midfielder for Portuguese second division side Penafiel, also from the Porto District. Silva progressed through Porto’s youth system before joining Pacos de Ferreira in 2017. He also had spells at Famalicão and Boavista, primarily featuring in their under-23 squads.
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