People have gathered for Diogo Jota's wake after the 28-year-old star tragically died in a car accident.
The crash took place on Thursday at around 12:35AM near Cernadilla, Spain, with the football player's Lamborghini coming off the road, rolling, and bursting into flames, igniting the surrounding vegetation.
Jota's 26-year-old brother, Andre Silva, also tragically lost his life in the incident.
The brothers died on the A-52 highway near Zamora, Spain, during a road trip to Santander to catch a ferry to the UK. The Portuguese star had been advised not to fly following lung surgery.
Jota played for Liverpool and the Portuguese national team and had recently won the Premier League with his club.
Rute Cardoso, who married Diogo just two weeks ago, arrived at Sao Cosme Chapel in Gondomar on Thursday night after bringing her husband’s body home from Spain ahead of the funeral.
The couple, who met as teenagers in the town overlooking Porto, had three young children and had celebrated their wedding in Porto just days before the tragedy.
The men's bodies, greeted by applause and tears, are lying in the Chapel of Rest behind the church, per the Daily Mail.
Dozens of mourners stood silently outside as the hearses arrived after 11:00PM, while family members embraced each other, breaking down in tears as they approached the chapel.
Jota’s parents, Isabel and Joaquim, and their grandfather were seen arriving, with Joaquim hugging mourners and raising a hand in thanks as he left with his wife. Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes, who accompanied the player’s mother, told reporters it was a “very difficult” time.
“We lost two great people. Diogo is an example as a person, husband, son, professional. I still can't believe it, it's very difficult,” said Mendes, in tears.
Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and President Marcelo de Sousa are among those paying their respects, while Liverpool’s former captain Jordan Henderson was seen wiping away tears as he laid flowers and a scarf outside Anfield.
Gondomar Town Hall described Jota as “an extraordinary talent and a true ambassador for Gondomar,” announcing a day of official mourning on July 4.
“During this period, the municipal flag will be flown at half-mast in all municipal buildings and facilities.”
Local priest Jose Manuel Macedo stated: “We're available to celebrate [their life] with everyone and to share the pain and the Christian hope.”
The funeral is expected to be held on Saturday at 10:00AM today at Igrega Matriz de Gondomar, near the chapel where the wake was held, just a half-hour from Porto where Jota married Rute Cardoso.
Liverpool Football Club said they were “devastated” by the tragedy, with tributes flooding in outside Anfield where supporters laid flowers and scarves in Jota’s memory.
Jota, who joined Liverpool in 2020 from Wolves, helped the club win the Premier League, FA Cup, and League Cup, scoring six goals in 26 appearances in the 2024/25 campaign and helping Portugal win the Nations League last month.
His younger brother Andre played for Penafiel in the Portuguese second tier.