Liverpool star tragically passes away in car accident in Spain

Awaiting confirmation from the club and family, Liverpool star Diogo Jota has tragically passed away in a car accident in Spain. The Portuguese international was one of two to pass away in the Spanish region of Zamora.

Jota, 28, was driving with his brother, 26, in the province of Zamora near a town called Sanabria, just above the Portuguese border and the Montesinho Nature Reserve. The local council published news of the accident on Thursday morning, detailing that the fire department were called to the scene in the early hours of the day.

Jota was recently married

Jota and his wife Rute Cardoso were married in just two weeks ago in Portugal. The area where the accident occurred is just a few hours away from Jota’s home city of Porto. According to Marca, the car came off the road, and a fire ensued, in which the car and the surrounding vegetation were set alight. Jota leaves behind Cardoso and three children, the youngest of which was born late last year, the eldest just four years old.

A spell-binding career

Jota, whose real name is Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva, was born on the 4th of December 1996 in Porto, and began playing for local side Gondomar. He would then move to Pacos de Ferreira, making his professional debut in 2014, before being picked up by Atletico Madrid for €7m two years later.

Loan moves to Porto and Wolves followed for the 20-year-old, and the latter made his switch to the Premier League permanent, without ever making a senior appearance for Los Colchoneros. After three seasons at Molineux, Jota was signed in 2020 by Liverpool for €44.7m, where he became a renowned star.

At Anfield, he won two League Cups, an FA Cup and this season became a Premier League champion for the first time. In total, he would make 398 club appearances, scoring 136 goals, and giving 66 assists. Of those, 65 goals and 26 assists came in his 182 appearances.

Portugal career on the up

At international level, Jota is one of the few players ever to have won the Nations League twice, doing so with Portugal this summer against Spain on penalties. Jota made 49 appearances for the Selecao, and scored 14 times and giving 12 assists.

Jota was known for his imperceptible movement, and his top-level technique. Capable of gliding across the pitch in many positions, he was constantly putting his ability at the service of the collective.

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