Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he is ‘heartbroken’ after the death of Diogo Jota in a car crash in Spain.
Jota had been brought to Liverpool under Klopp’s management, joining from Wolves in a £41million deal.
The forward played under Klopp for four seasons, before the German stepped down Liverpool manager at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Klopp reacted to the tragic news on Instagram, paying tribute to a ‘great friend’ and ‘fantastic player’.
‘This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose! But I can’t see it,’ Klopp wrote.
‘I’m heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother Andre.
‘Diogo was a not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father! We will miss you so much!
‘All my prayers, thoughts and power to Rute, the kids, the family, the friends and everyone who loved them!
‘Rest in peace – Love J’
Jota was part of Klopp’s Liverpool side that won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup during the 2021-22 season.
The Reds also reached the Champions League final, where Liverpool eventually were beaten 1-0 by Real Madrid in Paris.
Under Klopp’s successor Arne Slot, Jota helped Liverpool to win the Premier League title last season.
In total, Jota scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the club.
Jota had been travelling in a car with his 26-year-old brother Andre, who was also a footballer, when the vehicle went off road and the tragic news comes just two weeks after Jota married his long-term girlfriend Rute Cardoso in Porto.
The tyre of his Lamborghini, reportedly a £150,000 Urus SUV, is said to have blown out while overtaking on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora in northwestern Spain, close to the border with Portugal.
The supercar came off the road, rolled and then burst into flames at around 12.35am, also igniting the surrounding vegetation.
The emergency services were called but the brothers could not be saved.
Liverpool FC said in a statement that the club is ‘devastated’ by the tragedy and that Diogo’s family, friends and fans had suffered an ‘unimaginable loss’.
As news of the tragedy broke, clubs fans and icons from sport far and wide shared their condolences, with Jota’s team-mates also reflecting on the devastating loss online.
Darwin Nunez was the first of the Liverpool players to post, sharing a picture of him and Jota celebrating a goal at Anfield.
The Uruguayan wrote: ‘There are no words to comfort you for so much pain. I will always remember you with your smile, as a good team-mate on and off the field.
‘I send all my strength to your family, from where I am sure he will always be with you, especially your wife and three children. RIP Diogo and Andre.’
Luis Diaz added a post to his Instagram story, with Jota holding up the shirt with Diaz on the back at the time the Colombian’s father had been kidnapped.
Jota had just married Rute Cardoso, the 28-year-old mother of his three children and partner since the age of 16.
He had described himself as the luckiest man in the world to be her husband, sharing moving footage of their wedding day in his final Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.
The pair got together in 2013, it has been reported, and have three children together – two sons and a daughter who was born in November.
Jota frequently shared pictures of him and his family on his Instagram account, while his wife has posted images of their holidays in Dubai and Lapland.
They also have three pet beagles.
On Wednesday, Jota and Cardoso, 28, posted video footage of their wedding, with the caption: ‘A day we will never forget.’
Several Liverpool fans gathered at Anfield on Thursday morning to lay flowers and messages in honour of Jota, as the world of football fell into mourning.
