Further heartbreaking details have emerged surrounding the death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who passed away at the age of 28 after a fatal car accident in Spain.
According to Dan Roan of the BBC, the Portugal international had recently undergone minor lung surgery and was advised by doctors not to travel by air.
As a result, Jota had planned to make his return to Merseyside for pre-season training by ferry, with the Liverpool squad due to report back on Monday.
His final journey involved driving from Porto to the northern Spanish port of Santander, where he was set to board the boat back to the UK.
CNN Portugal shared a similar sequence of events, with this lung issue stemming from a clash with Chelsea’s Tosin Adarabioyo in October 2024 (via BBC Sport).
BBC detail Jota’s travel route to Santander
The crash is understood to have occurred near Zamora, not far from the Portuguese border and approximately 190 miles from both Porto and Santander.
Tragically, BBC Sport reports that the former Wolves forward had previously completed the exact same drive in reverse order to attend his recent wedding in Portugal.
The No.20 made 182 appearances for Liverpool after joining from Wolves in 2020, scoring 65 goals in all competitions and playing a crucial role in the title-winning campaign under Arne Slot.
Tributes have been pouring in for Diogo Jota
This new information offers further painful context to a loss that will be deeply felt across the footballing world, particularly at Kirkby, where the squad had been preparing to reunite for the new season.
Jurgen Klopp was among those to send their tributes to the striker, “Diogo was not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father,” wrote the German.
Teammates Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have also given a glimpse of the mood inside the camp and it’s heartbreaking to see the pain that has been caused by this premature passing.
The footballing toll is nowhere near what the family of Jota must be feeling, as they face life without two brothers who will never be forgotten.
