Liverpool star Diogo Jota has died at the age of 28 after his Lamborghini careered off a road in northern Spain – just two weeks after he married his childhood sweetheart.
The Portuguese forward was travelling in the supercar with his fellow footballer brother Andre, 26, who also died in the crash.
The Lamborghini’s tyre is believed to have blown out while overtaking on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora in northwestern Spain, close to the border with Portugal.
The supercar came off the road, rolled and then burst into flames in the early hours of this morning. The emergency services were called but the brothers could not be saved.
Jota had just married Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, and described himself as the luckiest man in the world to be her husband, sharing moving footage of their wedding day in his final Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.
The couple married on June 22 in Porto, the footballer’s home city. Rute shared more wedding day pictures in a social media post yesterday and said: ‘My dream come true.’ Jota replied in the comments: ‘I’m the lucky one.’
The Lamborghini crash happened on the A-52 in the province of Zamora. The Spanish road is a key route taken by drivers after leaving northern Portugal as they head for the ports of Santander and Bilbao or drive north-east towards France.
Emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region confirmed the crash and two fatalities at around 12.35am on Thursday morning. Diogo and Andre’s deaths were confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation.
Jota was part of Liverpool’s Premier League-winning side in the 2024/25 campaign, scoring six goals in 26 appearances. He also played for Portugal’s national team and helped it win the Nations League last month in an extraordinary win over rivals Spain on penalties.
Diogo Jota had married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, in the last fortnight. Here they are pictured on their wedding day
The remains of the Lamborghini that contained Diogo Jota and his brother Andre. Paramedics fought to save the men after the crash at around 12.35am today
The happy couple with their children Denis, Duarte, and a daughter born in 2024, whose name has not been revealed
Diogo and Rute leave the church on June 22. They later said on social media that they had both said: ‘Yes to forever.’
Jota described himself as the luckiest man in the world in an interview released yesterday after the couple walked down the aisle in Portugal
The couple have three children, pictured on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League
Diogo’s brother Andre, 26, was also a footballer and died in the crash
