Superstar Athlete Dies At 28 Just Days After Wedding

A global superstar soccer player was killed in a tragic car crash just weeks after marrying the love of his life.

Diogo Jota, 28, died alongside his brother after his Lamborghini lost control and careened off a road in northern Spain. The Portuguese striker had played for powerhouse English club Liverpool since September 2020.

The sportscar, believed to be a £150,000 Urus SUV, reportedly blew a tire while overtaking other vehicles on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora in northwestern Spain, close to the border with Portugal.

Jota and his brother were traveling at approximately 12:35 a.m. local time when their car lost control on the road, rolled over, and burst into a fireball that ignited a blaze in the surrounding brush.

Emergency services responded immediately, pronouncing Jota dead at the scene while his brother, André Silva, died of his injuries shortly later.

It remains unclear who was driving the car at the time of the accident.

In a statement, Liverpool called Jota’s death an “unimaginable loss” for his teammates, family, and new bride Rute Cardoso, the 28-year-old childhood sweetheart he had dated since they were 16 and with whom he shared three children.

A final Instagram post by Jota, posted Wednesday, boasts he is the luckiest man in the world and shares intimate photos of his wedding, just 28 days before the crash.

“My dream come true.” Jota replied to a fan in the comments. “I’m the lucky one.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, the global soccer superstar and fellow Portuguese player, expressed his disbelief in a statement.

“It doesn’t make any sense. Just now we were together for the national team, you were just married. To your family, to your wife and children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. RIP. Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you,” he wrote.

Born Diogo Silva, the future Liverpool player changed his surname to Jota to better stand out, stating in previous interviews that Silva is a common last name in Portugal, according to the Daily Mail.

He helped propel his team to the top of the English Premier League in the 2024-2025 season, scoring six goals in 26 appearances. Alongside Ronaldo, his national team defeated rival Spain to win the Nations League on penalty kicks last month.

Jota’s younger brother, Silva, was a rising star of his own, playing for Penafiel in the second-tier Portuguese soccer league.

Portugal’s national team said Jota “was not only a fantastic player with almost 50 caps for the national team, but also an extraordinary person who was respected by all his teammates and opponents.”

“Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota,” the club wrote Thursday morning.

“The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.

“Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss.”

“We will continue to provide them with our full support.”