Diogo Jota’s tragic crash: Extremely difficult to accept, says Mo Salah

Dubai: Mohamed Salah says he is “truly lost for words” after the tragic death of his Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash in Spain on Thursday.

“I am truly lost for words,” said the Egyptian striker, who joined Liverpool in the summer of 2017.

“Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me about going back to Liverpool after the break. Teammates come and go — but not like this.

“It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.

“My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.”

Jota was on his way back to Liverpool for pre-season. As doctors had advised him not to fly following minor surgery, he was making the journey by car and ferry. Several Liverpool players had been scheduled to return on Friday from their summer break for an initial round of physical tests at the club’s training ground, BCC Sport reported. That has now been postponed, with a phased return set to begin on Monday.

Tributes continue to pour in for the Liverpool and Portugal forward. Argentina’s World Cup-winning legend Lionel Messi paid his respects on Instagram, posting a story with the message “QEPD” — short for que en paz descanse, meaning “Rest in Peace” in Spanish.

Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo also honoured Jota, writing on X that the death “makes no sense,” especially coming so soon after Jota’s wedding and Portugal’s UEFA Nations League triumph.

Fans have also been paying their respects at Liverpool and his former club Wolves, whom he left in 2020 to join the Reds.

Jota, 28, had married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso just two weeks earlier, on June 22. The couple have three children. In an interview published on Wednesday — just a day before his death — Jota had described himself as “the luckiest man in the world.”

The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed that a vehicle veered off the motorway and burst into flames shortly after midnight in the municipality of Cernadilla, in the northwestern province of Zamora. Both Jota and his younger brother died in the crash.

“Everything points to the blowout of a tyre while the vehicle was overtaking,” the Civil Guard said in a statement.