Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota has died in a car crash, according to reports from Spain.
Just before 9am GMT on Thursday morning, Marca reported that the 28-year-old and his brother Andre were killed when the vehicle in which they were travelling went off the road and caught fire. The tragedy occurred on the A-52 in the province of Zamora.
The news was subsequently corroborated by several UK media outlets, with the Daily Mail, Sky News, Liverpool Echo and BBC all confirming further details from Spanish news agency EFE.
Zamora News have reported that emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 1am on Thursday morning, with the vehicle heading towards nearby Benavente.
Diogo married his long-time partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he has three children, only 11 days ago in his native Portugal.
The Portuguese Football Federation have released a statement in which they expressed their ‘deepest condolences to the family and friends’ of the two men killed in the crash, with the Liverpool forward being described as ‘an extraordinary person, respected by all teammates and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference within his own community’.
It adds that the deaths of the brothers ‘represents irreparable losses for Portuguese football’.
Everyone at Empire of the Kop expresses their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Diogo and Andre and is extremely saddened to hear this tragic news.
