From glory to grief: The life and loss of Diogo Jota

From Liverpool’s frontline to heartbreak in Spain — remembering the man, the moments

Last updated:
A.K.S. Satish, Sports Editor
3 MIN READ
Portugal's forward Diogo Jota during a press conference. The Liverpool star was killed in a car crash in Spain on Thursday.
Portugal's forward Diogo Jota during a press conference. The Liverpool star was killed in a car crash in Spain on Thursday.
AFP

Liverpool's Diogo Jota celebrates with his family during a lap of honour at the end of the English Premier League match in 2022. The Portuguese striker died along with his brother on Thursday in a road accident in northwest Spain, the Spanish Civil Guard said.

Diogo Jota lifts the Premier League trophy at the end of the English Premier League match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield in Liverpool, on May 25.

Diogo Jota with Kostas Tsimikas Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz celebrate with both trophies from an open-top bus during a parade on May 29.

Portuguese Football Federation expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and Andre Silva, as well as to Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs where the players respectively played.

Jota, capped 49 times for Portugal and scored 14 goals, while winning the Uefa Nations League in 2019 and 2025, where they defeated Spain in the final last month.

Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, on June 22 and described himself as the luckiest man in the world in an interview released on Wednesday.

Diogo Jota's car went up in flames after veering off the road, killing the 28 year old and his brother Andre Silva, also a professional footballer, Zamora, in northwestern Spain, on Thursday.

A.K.S. Satish
A.K.S. SatishSports Editor
From playing on the pitch to analysing it from the press box, Satish has spent over three decades living and breathing sport. A cricketer-turned-journalist, he has covered three Cricket World Cups, the 2025 Champions Trophy, countless IPL seasons, F1 races, horse racing classics, and tennis in Dubai. Cricket is his home ground, but he sees himself as an all-rounder - breaking stories, building pages, going live on podcasts, and interviewing legends across every corner of the sporting world. Satish started on the back pages, and earned his way to the front, now leading the sports team at Gulf News, where he has spent 25 years navigating the fast-evolving game of journalism. Whether it’s a Super-Over thriller or a behind-the-scenes story, he aims to bring insight, energy, and a fan’s heart to every piece. Because like sport, journalism is about showing up, learning every day, and giving it everything.

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