Lionel Messi joins as world football mourns Diogo Jota

Dubai: Tributes continue to pour in for Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash along with his brother, Andre Silva, in Spain on Thursday.

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.

“We will all miss you,” Ronaldo added.

Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca hailed Jota as “an extraordinary person, respected by all his colleagues and opponents — someone blessed with an infectious joy and a reference for his own community”.

“We have lost two champions. The death of Diogo and Andre Silva are irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything possible to honour their legacy every day,” he wrote on social media.

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 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.

The central government’s representative in Zamora, Angel Blanco, told reporters that the car “was burned out, and they died inside”.

Local media shared footage showing the charred, mangled remains of what they identified as Jota’s supercar.

Jota’s death has sparked grief across the football world. Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said forward Pedro Neto will decide for himself whether to play in Friday’s Club World Cup quarter-final against Palmeiras in Philadelphia.

“It is completely Pedro’s decision,” Maresca said. “I had a chat this morning with Pedro. Any decision he takes is the correct one and we will support him.”

Neto, who has scored three goals in three Club World Cup matches, had recently played alongside Jota for Portugal in their Nations League victory, and the pair were also teammates at Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in their careers.

Meanwhile, new Chelsea signing Joao Pedro could make his debut against Palmeiras despite just joining the squad from his off-season break.