The final photograph of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota before his untimely death has been shared, capturing a joyful moment with his wife and friends as they celebrated a loved one’s wedding in Portugal.

The football world is in mourning after the devastating news that Jota, 28, died alongside his brother, André Silva, 26, in a car accident in the early hours of Thursday morning. The fatal crash occurred near Cernadilla, in Zamora, Spain—just ten miles from the Portuguese border—when a tyre on their Lamborghini reportedly burst as they attempted to overtake another vehicle. The car veered off the road, rolled, and burst into flames. Emergency services were unable to save either brother.

André Silva, who played for Portuguese second division club Penafiel, had been travelling with Jota to Santander, from where they planned to catch a ferry to Britain. Reports in Portugal indicate that Jota had recently undergone lung surgery and had been advised by doctors not to fly, prompting the decision to travel by road and sea.

Liverpool are set to begin pre-season training on Tuesday, and the two brothers were en route back to the UK. The ferry they intended to board—a Brittany Ferries service from Santander to Plymouth—departed at 4:00pm BST on Thursday and was due to arrive in Devon at 11:15am on Friday.

According to Portuguese outlet Record, Jota and his newlywed wife, Rute Cardoso, had been celebrating at a friend’s wedding over the weekend, shortly before he set off on his return journey to Liverpool.

In what is now believed to be his final public photograph, Jota is seen dressed smartly in a blue suit, white shirt, purple tie, black shoes, and dark sunglasses, smiling radiantly among a group of friends. His wife Rute, the 28-year-old mother of their three children and his partner since the age of 16, stands beside him in a lilac floral dress with heels, a pink clutch bag, and sunglasses.

The image, featuring nine people including the couple, captures the joyful atmosphere of the occasion. It was taken less than two weeks after the pair tied the knot in Jota’s home city of Porto on 22 June. In a heartfelt social media post shared on the day of their wedding, they wrote: “22 June 2025. Yes to forever.” Jota described himself as “the luckiest man in the world” to be her husband, and in his final Instagram post, he shared a touching video from the ceremony. Rute followed with her own post just a day ago, captioned: “My dream come true,” to which Jota replied: “I’m the lucky one.”

Reports indicate that, following the wedding celebrations, Jota had lunch with Rute and their children in Leça da Palmeira on Wednesday, the day before the fatal crash.

The accident occurred on the A-52 motorway in the province of Zamora, a major route for travellers leaving northern Portugal en route to ports such as Santander and Bilbao or heading northeast towards France. Authorities in Castilla y León confirmed the crash and the two fatalities at approximately 12:35am on Thursday. The Portuguese Football Federation later confirmed the deaths around 8:00am.

The brothers were reportedly travelling in a Lamborghini Huracán Evo Spyder, a high-performance vehicle valued at approximately £180,000 before optional upgrades. The model can reach speeds over 200mph and accelerates from 0 to 60mph in just 3.1 seconds.

It has not yet been officially confirmed who was driving at the time of the accident, though investigators are focusing on the likelihood that a tyre blowout while overtaking caused the crash.

Tributes have poured in from around the football world, including from Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who expressed deep sorrow:

“It doesn't make any sense. Just now we were together with 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 André. We will all miss you.”

Current Liverpool stars Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz, along with former manager Jürgen Klopp, also paid emotional tributes.

Diogo Jota, born Diogo Silva, adopted the name ‘Jota’ professionally to stand out in the footballing world, as ‘Silva’ is a common surname in Portugal. His brother André retained the family name.

The two were the only children of Joaquim and Isabel Silva.

Jota played a pivotal role in Liverpool’s Premier League-winning campaign during the 2024/25 season, netting six goals in 26 appearances. He was also an integral part of Portugal’s national team, helping them lift the UEFA Nations League trophy last month in a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Spain.