The football world is mourning the sudden death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who tragically passed away alongside his younger brother André Silva in a car accident in north-west Spain.
The brothers were traveling in a Lamborghini when a tyre reportedly burst, causing the car to veer off the road and burst into flames. Both men died instantly.
The news has sent shockwaves through the global football community and left Liverpool players, staff, and fans devastated.
A number of current and former players have paid tribute to the Portuguese forward. Virgil van Dijk described Jota as a “great man with a great heart” and said the team would miss him beyond words. “Your legacy will live on,” he wrote.
Cristiano Ronaldo, visibly emotional during a media appearance, expressed his disbelief, saying, “It doesn’t make sense. To your family… I send condolences and wish you all the strength in the world.”
Liverpool’s former manager, Jurgen Klopp, called Jota “a beautiful soul, a loving husband and father, and a brilliant player who never failed to put the team first.”
Across the world, players and clubs, from Bayern Munich to Atlético Madrid, have shared their condolences, holding moments of silence and posting messages of support to the grieving families.
Mo Salah is the latest player to speak out, and his words have deeply moved fans and teammates alike. In a heartfelt message shared online, Salah revealed the emotional toll of the loss, saying he’s genuinely frightened to return to Liverpool after the break, knowing Jota won’t be there.
“Team mates come and go but not like this,” he wrote. “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.” He added a promise that has resonated across the football world: “They will never be forgotten.”
I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team mates 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… pic.twitter.com/TIEzpjOABr
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) July 4, 2025
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As Liverpool prepares to return to training, the mood within the squad remains somber. Pre-season activities have been delayed to allow players to attend Jota’s funeral in Portugal.
A Tribute to Diogo Jota: The Silent Storm of Anfield
Some players wear their brilliance like armour, loud, gleaming, demanding attention. Others wear it like breath, quiet, constant, essential. Diogo Jota was the latter.
He never entered a room shouting for greatness, yet every step he took on the pitch whispered of it. When he arrived at Anfield in the autumn of 2020, few could have predicted how deeply he would etch his name into Liverpool’s story. There was no parade, no prediction of a hero’s rise. But fate had already begun its quiet script.
In just nine days, he found the net against Arsenal. The goal was not a thunderclap, but a simmering promise: a bouncing volley kissed with instinct and calm. He peeled away without fanfare, a man who seemed to know there was more to come.
And there was. He did not blaze into headlines. He glided beneath them, scoring, sprinting, vanishing, reappearing, always at the right time, always where it mattered. Diogo Jota became a ghost in the box. A menace hidden in silence.
He saved his loudest poetry for nights like Atalanta. A Champions League away game under moonlight and pressure, where others might freeze, Jota composed a hat-trick of rare balance. First, a touch to caress the ball under pressure and a finish to silence doubt.
