Close family, friends, and football icons will come together for the funeral of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota, alongside his brother, two days after the tragic car accident.
Diogo Jota, 28, and Andre Silva, 25, lost their lives on Thursday when their vehicle left a motorway in northwestern Spain and was engulfed in flames, just a week after Diogo had tied the knot.
The funeral service is set to start at 9 am local time (10 am Irish time) in his hometown of Gondomar, near Porto.
Local media report that the service will be officiated by the bishop of Porto.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa paid his respects at Diogo Jota’s wake.
Among those offering their condolences were a childhood friend, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Mr. Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes, and Porto club president Andre Villas-Boas.
“Football is truly in mourning. Diogo was an icon of the talent Portuguese football represents,” remarked football federation chief Pedro Proenca.
‘Rest in peace’
Mourners arrived with floral wreaths, some weeping audibly, before the wake was opened to the public.
The loss of the Portugal international and his brother has evoked widespread grief in the football community and beyond.
Liverpool initiated a book of condolences and lowered flags to half-mast, while numerous supporters laid an array of flowers, balloons, shirts, and scarves inscribed with “Rest in peace Diogo Jota” outside Anfield.
At the Diogo Jota football academy, located near Gondomar SC where the former Porto and Atletico Madrid player began his journey, well-wishers created a memorial with flowers, scarves, candles, and shirts.
“Thank you, Diogo Jota,” read a handwritten note from a child.
Well-wishers view flowers, scarves, and shirts at a memorial close to Anfield football ground.
Pedro Neves, who attended school with Mr. Jota in Gondomar, recalled, “I will remember him as someone very friendly, polite, who loved everyone, and always had a smile on his face.”
“He left us too young; it’s not fair. But that’s how life is sometimes,” Mr. Neves, 31, shared with AFP.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who signed Mr. Jota in 2020, expressed his heartbreak, while the club referred to it as an “unimaginable loss.”
Mr. Klopp’s successor at Anfield, Arne Slot, stated that everyone associated with the club must “stand together and be there for one another” in this difficult time.
Diogo Jota was honored at the Club World Cup in the United States, where a minute of silence was observed during the quarter-final between Brazil’s Fluminense and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in Orlando.
Reports from Portuguese and UK media indicated that Mr. Jota was traveling to the northern Spanish port of Santander to catch a ferry to England for Liverpool’s training, having opted against a flight on medical advice after undergoing recent lung surgery.
Liverpool’s Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah shared that the death of his teammate left him “frightened” to return to the club as the Premier League champions delayed the return of some players for pre-season training.
Mr. Jota had married his partner Rute Cardoso on June 22, posting a wedding video on Instagram just hours before the accident. The couple had three children.
