Diogo Jota’s Death Cause

Before his wedding in June 2025, Jota had minor surgery, and physicians told him not to fly. He drove south to Porto after taking a ferry from Liverpool to Santander in northern Spain. Before arriving at Santander, he and his brother André were injured in a car accident on their way back to Liverpool for preseason training. Both brothers died in the car crash.

The Spanish Civil Guard claims that Jota’s Lamborghini Huracán skidded off the road and caught fire after a tire blew out while he was passing another vehicle.

The event happened on the A-52 motorway (kilometer point 65 towards Benavente) in the municipality of Cernadilla in the Province of Zamora on July 3, 2025, at approximately 00:40 CEST. Their deaths were initially reported by the Spanish newspaper Marca. The crash and the deaths of both brothers at the scene were confirmed by Spanish emergency authorities later that day.

Jota’s sudden death received international media coverage, as well as an outpouring of messages from figures in the footballing world such as Arne Slot, head coach of Liverpool F.C., Michael Edwards (CEO of football for Fenway Sports Group) and Richard Hughes (sporting director of Liverpool), His previous team Wolves, and club representative Matt Wild, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Gianni Infantino.

A moment of silence was observed before all games at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 on 3 and 4 July 2025, including a match between Portugal and Spain, where players wore black armbands at the request of the Portuguese Football Federation. Moments of silence will also take place during the quarter-finals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on 4 and 5 July, and the flags at FIFA Headquarters in Zürich will be flown at half-mast.

Diogo Jota is survived by his wife, Rute Cardoso, his high school sweetheart, and three children. The couple married on 22 June 2025, just 11 days before his death.

Who Was Diogo Jota?

Diogo José Teixeira da Silva, known as Diogo Jota, was born on the 4th of  December 1996.

He was a Portuguese professional footballer who played as a forward or left winger. He was known for his finishing, pace, dribbling ability and work rate.

He began his career with Paços de Ferreira before joining Atlético Madrid of La Liga in 2016. He spent two seasons in the Primeira Liga before being loaned to FC Porto in 2016 and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Championship in 2017.

He joined the team in 2018 for an estimated €14 million and scored 44 goals in 131 games after helping them be promoted to the Premier League. He reportedly paid £41 million to join Liverpool in 2020.

Throughout five seasons, he played 182 games and scored 65 goals for Liverpool, which helped them win two EFL Cups, one FA Cup, and the Premier League title in 2024–25.

Jota represented Portugal as a young player at the under-19, under-21, and under-23 levels as a Portugal youth international. He was selected for the 2022 World Cup and two European Championships (2020 and 2024) squads after making his senior international debut in November 2019.

He also won the UEFA Nations League in 2019 and 2025.