{"id":45269,"date":"2025-07-08T14:34:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=45269"},"modified":"2025-07-08T14:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:34:12","slug":"soccer-star-dies-in-car-accident-less-than-two-weeks-after-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/07\/soccer-star-dies-in-car-accident-less-than-two-weeks-after-wedding.html","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Star Dies in Car Accident Less Than Two Weeks After Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@diogoj_18 \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The soccer world is mourning the loss of two players, Diogo Jota who played for Liverpool and his brother, Andr\u00e9 Silva, who played with Portuguese club Penafiel. The brothers were driving in the Spanish province of Zamora on Thursday, July 3, when a road incident caused them to go off the road. Both Jota, 28, and his brother, 25, were native to Portugal, with a funeral service being held for them on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Jota had just married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, less than two weeks earlier. His last Instagram post<\/a> reminisced about the special day, captioning it with \u201cA day we will never forget.\u201d The post featured video and images of the couple\u2019s special day. The couple\u2019s three children, two sons and a baby girl born in November, were also part of the special event. Comments on the post have become condolences for the family, with one user writing, \u201cSo sorry for your loss Rute, Diogo will be our player for a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The soccer world came out in force to commemorate the brothers at their funeral. Several of Jota\u2019s current and former Liverpool teammates, Liverpool club captain Virgil Van Dijk and manager Arne Slot were seen at the funeral, as well as Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva \u2014 who also spoke. Jota\u2019s teammate and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, opted to skip the funeral<\/a>, citing concerns that his presence would take away from attention on Jota\u2019s family. The funeral took place in the small town of Gondomar, with Ronaldo\u2019s sister citing the media circus that followed their own father\u2019s death as proof that Ronaldo\u2019s attendance would have only increased the scrutiny. \u201cWhen my father died, in addition to the pain of loss we had to deal with a flood of cameras and curious onlookers at the cemetery and everywhere we went,\u201d his sister recalled. Ronaldo shared a tribute to Jota on social media<\/a>, writing, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense. We were just together in the national team, and you had just gotten married. To your family, your wife and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crash remains under investigation. Investigators currently believe the Lamborghini the pair were in suffered a burst tire while trying to overtake another car. The car ultimately veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight. It is unclear at this time which of the brothers was driving. Liverpool postponed its preseason start to Tuesday. The team\u2019s scheduled friendly with Preston North End for Sunday is still up for debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The soccer world is mourning the loss of two players, Diogo Jota who played for Liverpool and his brother, Andr\u00e9 Silva, who played with Portuguese club Penafiel. The brothers were driving in the Spanish province of Zamora on Thursday, July 3, when a road incident caused them to go off the road. Both Jota, 28,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":45272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nSoccer Star Dies in Car Accident Less Than Two Weeks After Wedding<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Soccer mourns Diogo Jota and brother Andr\u00e9 Silva, killed in a tragic car crash days after Jota\u2019s wedding. 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