The our bodies of Diogo Jota and his brother had been greeted by heartbroken supporters and applause as their coffins arrived at a church in Portugal forward of their funeral.
Mourners will collect early this morning to pay their respects at a wake in Gondomar after Jota, 28, and his sibling died in a fiery crash within the early hours on Thursday.
Dozens had been already standing exterior on the church final night time and tears rolled down their faces because the hearses transporting the 2 our bodies arrived after 11pm.
Jose Manuel Macedo, the native parish priest, stated the wake would happen at 8am on the close by Capela de Ressurreicao earlier than their funeral on the Igreja Matriz, the Catholic church subsequent door, on Saturday morning at 10am.
‘We’re obtainable to have a good time [their life] with everybody and to share the ache and the Christian hope,’ Macedo advised CNN.
The tyre of Jota’s Lamborghini Huracan is claimed to have blown out whereas overtaking one other automobile on the A-52 at Cernadilla close to Zamora, simply ten miles over the border from Portugal. The supercar then got here off the street, rolled and burst into flames.
The crash, which came about at round 12.35am, additionally ignited the encompassing vegetation. The emergency providers had been referred to as however the brothers couldn’t be saved. Police have stated they have no idea who had been behind the wheel.
Spanish authorities official Angel Blanco stated the siblings died on the scene.
On Thursday afternoon, hearses had been noticed arriving at a funeral dwelling within the Spanish city of Puebla de Sanabria, the place the our bodies had been taken after the incident.
Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes was pictured accompanying the participant’s mom as they entered the funeral dwelling, and he advised reporters it was a ‘very troublesome’ time.
‘We misplaced two nice individuals. Diogo is an instance as an individual, husband, son, skilled. I nonetheless cannot imagine it, it’s totally troublesome,’ stated Mendes, in tears.
The hearses later departed for Gondomar.
This morning’s wake will happen only a half-hour drive from Jota’s dwelling metropolis of Porto, northern Portugal – the place simply two weeks in the past the 28-year-old married his childhood sweetheart Rute in a service full of household and pals.
Jota and his brother Andre, 26, had been reportedly on a street journey to Santander to catch a ferry to Britain after he was suggested to not fly following lung surgical procedure.
Liverpool are resulting from begin pre-season coaching on Monday, so Jota was heading again to the UK on a street journey. A Brittany Ferries service from Santander to Plymouth left at 4pm on Thursday, arriving in Devon at 11.15am on Friday.
The soccer membership stated in an announcement that they had been ‘devastated’ by the tragedy and that Diogo’s household, pals and followers had suffered an ‘unimaginable loss’. Flowers and tributes have been laid exterior Anfield by supporters in tears.
Jota had simply married the mom of his three kids and accomplice because the age of 16. He had described himself because the luckiest man on this planet to be her husband, sharing footage of their wedding ceremony day in his closing Instagram submit on Wednesday.
Rute shared extra wedding ceremony day footage in a social media submit and stated: ‘My dream come true.’ Jota then replied within the feedback: ‘I am the fortunate one.’
The pair obtained collectively in 2013, it has been reported, and have three kids collectively – two sons and a daughter who was born in November.
Jota was a part of Liverpool’s Premier League-winning facet within the 2024/25 marketing campaign, scoring six objectives in 26 appearances. He additionally performed for Portugal’s nationwide workforce and helped them win the Nations League final month.
His youthful brother performed for Penafiel, within the second tier of Portuguese soccer.
The Spanish civil guard stated Jota was discovered useless on the scene alongside his brother.
‘The 1-1-2 Castilla y León operations room acquired a number of calls reporting a automobile accident at Km. 65 of the A-52, within the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora. A automotive was reported to have been concerned in an accident and the automobile was on fireplace,’ they stated.
‘1-1-2 notified the Zamora Site visitors Police, the Zamora Provincial Council Hearth Brigade, and the Sacyl Emergency Coordination Middle (CCU) of this accident.
‘From there, a Medical Emergency Unit (UME) and the Main Care Medical Employees (MAP) from the Mombuey Well being Middle had been despatched, who confirmed the demise of two individuals on the scene.’
The Portuguese nationwide soccer workforce stated they’re ‘devastated’ by the demise of Jota, including he ‘was not solely a incredible participant with virtually 50 caps for the nationwide workforce, however a unprecedented one who was revered by all his teammates and opponents’.
His demise was confirmed by Pedro Proenca, head of the Portuguese Soccer Federation, who stated in an announcement: ‘The Portuguese Soccer Federation and all of Portuguese soccer are utterly devastated by the deaths of Diogo Jota and André Silva, on Thursday morning, in Spain.
‘Rather more than an incredible participant, with virtually 50 matches for the Nationwide A Group, Diogo Jota was a unprecedented particular person, revered by all teammates and opponents, somebody with an infectious pleasure and a reference locally itself.
‘On my behalf, and on behalf of the Portuguese Soccer Federation, I specific my deepest condolences to the household and pals of Diogo and Andre Silva, in addition to Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the golf equipment the place, respectively, lined up the gamers.
‘The Portuguese Soccer Federation has already requested UEFA for a minute’s silence, this Thursday, earlier than the match of our nationwide workforce with Spain, within the ladies’s European Championship. Misplaced to 2 champs.
‘The disappearance of Diogo and Andre Silva characterize irreparable losses for Portuguese soccer and we’ll do every part to, every day, honor their legacy’.
Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 and gained three main trophies with the Merseyside membership – together with the Premier League title final season.
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