The family and friends of the Liverpool striker Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva gathered on Friday in a church where their bodies had been brought for a funeral vigil and a funeral, after the Portuguese players died in a road accident in Spain.

Some embraced each other and cried before entering the Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, where the funeral of the brothers is scheduled for Saturday.

Jota, 28 years old, and the 25 -year -old brother were found dead near Zamora, in north -western Spain, after Lamborghini aboard which they were crashed on an isolated stretch of highway shortly after midnight on Thursday, taking fire.

Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family, they said officials of the Spanish government.

A tribute to Diogo Jota from the former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson at the Anfield stadium, 4th July 2025 AP Photo

Jota and her parents both live in Gondomar, where she started his career as a child’s player. Gondomar is a working town near Porto, where Jota was born.

Jota’s death took place two weeks after her marriage to her longtime companion Rute Cardoso, during a holiday after a long season in which she had contributed to Liverpool’s Premier League victory. The couple had three children, the youngest of whom was born last year.

The Spanish police are investigating the cause of the accident, which, according to reports, did not involve other vehicles.

His brother Silva played in the Portuguese club Penafiel in the lower series.

The Portuguese authorities and the world of football have expressed numerous condolences as soon as the news of the accident has spread.

Diogo Jota del Liverpool celebrates the goal during the Premier League match at Carow Road in Norwich, 14 August 2021. Photo Ap.

Liverpool fans deposed crowns of flowers and scarves of the team outside the Anfield stadium, while a minute of silence was observed before the match between Portugal and Spain at the European women’s championship in Switzerland.

The loss was hard in his hometown, especially in his first football team, where Jota started playing at the age of nine.

“He has never forgotten his roots, nor his friends, because he had a group of friends who accompanied him in training here in Gondomar and who occasionally invited to go to see the Liverpool matches in England,” said the director of the Gondomar SC Anselmo Serra.

“They were like a group of friends who have never forgotten over the years.”