Jota and Silva were driving to Santander to catch a ferry back to England ahead of the start of Liverpool’s pre-season training on Monday, CNN Portugal reports.
The news outlet reports that Jota was advised against flying back to England due to recent surgery.
Police said the accident happened at 12.30am when the Lamborghini the pair were travelling in veered off the road.
Image: Palacios de Sanabria in the north of Spain
“A vehicle left the road and everything indicates a tyre burst while overtaking,” the Guardia Civil in Zamora told Sky Sports News in a statement.
“As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both people were killed. Pending the completion of forensic tests, one of the deceased has been identified as Diogo Jota, a Liverpool FC player, and his brother, Andre Felipe.”
A Spanish government source told the PA news agency that police were investigating the crash as “a possible speeding incident”.
Image: The aftermath of the crash. Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
Police added that no other vehicles were involved in the incident.
Pictures of the aftermath of the crash showed debris scattered along the side of the road, including what appeared to be charred parts of the vehicle.
It comes just 10 days after the player married his long-term girlfriend, Rute Cardoso.
Image: Diogo Jota holds the Premier League trophy aloft after the club’s title win in the 2024/25 season. Pic: Reuters
Image: Diogo Jota walks the pitch with his family in 2022.
Pic: PA
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The footballer, whoplayed as a striker for Liverpool, began his career in his native Portugal and played at Atletico Madrid in Spain before moving to England.
He joined the Merseyside club from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020.
Image: Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with Diogo Jota. Pic: PA
Image: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Diogo Jota (right) during a training session. Pic: PA
Jota played an important role throughout his five years with the Reds, including scoring six times in Liverpool’s recent Premier League-winning season.
He scored a total of 47 times in 123 matches for the club. He also played 49 times for the Portugal national side, scoring 14 times.
Silva, 25, played for Penafiel, a Portuguese second division club.
Image: Diogo Jota holding the trophy on the team bus during the Premier League winners parade in Liverpool. Pic: PA
Teammates and football legends pay tribute
A statement issued by Liverpool FC said the club was “devastated” by their player’s death.
“The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre,” the club said in a statement.
“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.
“We will continue to provide them with our full support.”
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1:38
Sky’s Greg Milam reports from Anfield Stadium where Liverpool fans are hearing about the death of Diogo Jota.
The Portuguese football federation said it was “utterly devastated by the deaths”.
“Far beyond being an exceptional player, with nearly 50 caps for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all teammates and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference within his own community.
“We have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and Andre Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese Football, and we will do everything to honour their legacy daily.”
The Portugal and Spain women’s teams held a minute’s silence for Jota and Silva before their match in the Women’s Euros in Switzerland on Thursday evening.
Image: Floral tributes left at Anfield this morning. Pic: Sky
It came after Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot said in a statement: “What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and the pain is so incredibly raw? I wish I had the words but I know I do not.
“All I have are feelings that I know so many people will share about a person and a player we loved dearly and a family we care so much about.
“My first thoughts are not those of a football manager. They are of a father, a son, a brother and an uncle and they belong to the family of Diogo and Andre Silva who have experienced such an unimaginable loss.”
Jota’s former manager at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, offered his thoughts in a post on Instagram.
“This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose, but I can’t see it,” he said.
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“I’m heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother Andre. Diogo was not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father.
“We will miss you so much. All my prayers, thoughts and power to Rute, the kids, the family, the friends and everyone who loved them.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk posted on Instagram: “What a human being, what a player, but most importantly what an unbelievable family man.
“You mean so much to all of us and you always will!”
Cristiano Ronaldo, Jota’s captain in the national team, said: “It doesn’t make sense. Just now we were together in the National Team, just now you had gotten married.
“To your family, your wife, and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world.
“I know you will always be with them. Rest in Peace, Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you.”
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1:16
Diogo Jota married his long-term girlfriend just two weeks ago
Jota’s Liverpool teammates Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai have also paid tribute.
Szoboszlai wrote: “Words cannot describe how heartbroken and devastated we are… Your smile, your love for the game will never be forgotten.
“We will miss you so much, but you will stay with us forever, on and off the pitch.”
Jota’s former teammates Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Thiago Alcantara have also shared messages on social media.
Mane posted a picture of himself and Jota with heartbreak emojis.
It came as Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish wrote on X: “You feel helpless, knowing there’s so little we can do to ease the pain for his wife of just two weeks, his three beautiful children.”
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard shared an image of Jota on Instagram and wrote: “Condolences to his family and friends during this incredibly sad time.”
Liverpool owners Billy Hogan, John Henry and Tom Werner, who are part of the Fenway Sports Group, said: “This tragic situation and the reality of it is truly shocking, devastating and has left us numb with grief.”
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Football icon Lionel Messi has also paid tribute, sharing an image of Jota on Instagram with the message “QEPD” – short for the Spanish phrase ‘que en paz descanse’, which translates to “may he rest in peace'”.
European football clubs such as Barcelona and AC Milan have also shared messages, along with basketball player LeBron James and tennis icon Rafael Nadal.
Meanwhile Liverpool FC have opened a physical and digital book of condolence for supporters and members of the public to sign.
The physical book is at the club’s stadium, in the Anfield Road Stand reception area until Sunday evening.
An avid video gamer, Jota also owned an eSports team and regularly streamed on Twitch.
Israel has begun a pause in fighting in three areas of Gaza to address the worsening humanitarian situation.
The IDF said it would halt fighting in three areas, Muwasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City, from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice, beginning today.
In a statement, the IDF said it would also establish secure routes to help the UN and aid agencies deliver food and other supplies.
Image: Palestinians carry aid supplies. Pic: Reuters
Israel’s announcement of what it calls a “tactical pause” in fighting comes after it resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza.
While the IDF reiterated claims there is “no starvation” in Gaza, it said the airdrops would include “seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations”.
Reports suggest aid has already been dropped into Gaza, with some injured after fighting broke out.
He told Sky News: “This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”
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On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said there was no evidence Hamashad stolen aid from UN agencies.
The IDF’s international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, described such reports as “fake news” and said Hamas thefts have been “well documented”.
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3:49
Malnourished girl: ‘The war changed me’
Airdrops ‘expensive and inefficient’
It comes as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said as of Saturday, 127 people have died from malnutrition-related causes, including 85 children.
They include a five-month-old girl who weighed less than when she was born, with a doctor at Nasser Hospital describing it as a case of “severe, severe starvation”.
Health workers have also been weakened by hunger, with some putting themselves on IV drips so they can keep treating badly malnourished patients.
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2:10
Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza
On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza – but the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned this will not reverse “deepening starvation”.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini described the method as “expensive” and “inefficient”, adding: “It is a distraction and screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.
“Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.”
UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for permission to enter Gaza, he added.
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1:17
PM says UK will help drop aid to Gaza
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, and said the lack of food and water on the ground was “unconscionable”.
The UN also estimates Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food, the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has also previously disputed these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”
Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.
Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.
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11:30
Israel challenged on starvation in Gaza
Sir Trevor asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.
“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”
In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.
The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.
“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.
“This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”
He added: “If the newsfeeds and social feeds weren’t so censored in Israel, I imagine that the Israeli people would not permit what has been done in their name.”
Asked about the UK government’s reaction, Geldof said it was “not enough”.
“This is a distraction thing about ‘let’s recognise the state ‘ – absolutely, it should have been done ages ago, but it’s not going to make any material difference,” he said, referring to calls for Sir Keir Starmer to recognise Palestine as a state.
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7:41
Gaza: ‘This is man-made starvation’
In the Sky News interview earlier this week, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.”
He also claimed that, since May, more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.
It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.
The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.
MSF then described the lack of food and water on the ground “unconscionable”.
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2:10
Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza
In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.
It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.
“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”
The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.
“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”
Yehuda searches through a downstairs room looking for a plastic bag containing the most precious of objects.
It’s a small, blackened Rubik’s Cube that belongs to Yehuda’s son Nimrod – one of 20 living Israeli hostages still being held by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
“He likes PlayStation and Rubik’s Cube,” says Nimrod’s mother, Vicky.
“They found the Rubik’s Cube in the tank. It was complete but a little bit dark and they brought it back to us.”
Image: Vicky Cohen
We spoke to Nimrod’s parents Yehuda and Vicky about the emotional rollercoaster hostage families in Israel are going through – as hope rises and fades of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
“I still have hope that maybe I will see Nimrod again,” says Vicky.
“It almost breaks my heart because I still had expectation,” she says – in spite of the latest failure to find resolution in talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha.
“But I still have hope that maybe something good will happen,” she says.
“We heard our prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] say visiting Washington and meeting Trump was very successful – and heard members of the coalition talking about our prime minister eventually understanding he needs to end the war. But until now nothing.”
The delegation coming back to Israel doesn’t mean a total collapse of ceasefire talks, but US envoy Steve Witkoff said the response to the latest ceasefire proposals by Hamas showed “a lack of desire”.
And so the rollercoaster of emotion for the hostage families continues.
Nimrod’s father Yehuda Cohen said: “Of course it’s a disappointment but it’s not the first one. A long time ago I learned not to get my expectations up so the disappointment won’t be too deep.
“The solution is very simple – I’ve got it on my shirt – ceasefire and hostage deal. Meaning the only way to get all the hostages is ending the war.”
Image: Nimrod’s father Yehuda
Yehuda shows us Nimrod’s bedroom at the family home. It’s exactly as it was when Nimrod left to return to his army duties a few days before the October 7 attacks.
Except in a corner, there’s a box of uniforms and personal possessions, including a wallet which Nimrod had left at his army outpost – all returned to the family by the IDF.
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Image: The IDF handed Nimrod’s parents a box of his possessions left at his army outpost
It’s just like the bedroom of any other teenager – Nimrod was 19 when he was kidnapped. But two birthdays have passed since then. Nimrod is 21 now – a milestone spent in captivity a few weeks ago.
It’s believed there are 20 living Israeli hostages in Gaza – all male – and that Hamas is holding the bodies of 27 more hostages who have been killed.
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3:10
Starvation in Gaza continues
But even if a deal is agreed, the first phase is expected to secure the release of only half of the living hostages – and Nimrod’s parents say their son, as a soldier, is not likely to be one of the 10.
Yehuda says: “A partial deal means that the probability my son will be on that list is close to zero. So he’s going to be one of the last ones to be released, and that’s why we have to fight.”