Diogo Jota to be honoured as mourners gather in Portugal for Liverpool player’s wake

<p>Mourners are gathering to honour Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota at a wake in Portugal on Friday morning</p><p>Mourners are gathering at a wake in Portugal to commemorate Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, following their deaths in a car accident.<br /><br />
Jota and his 25-year-old sibling died when the Lamborghini they were travelling in careered off a road in north-western Spain in the early hours of Thursday. The bodies of the two professional footballers were returned to Portugal later that day. Jota was 28 and had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, 11 days before his death. They had three young children.<br /><br />
José Manuel Macedo, parish priest at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar in São Cosme, said that a wake for the brothers was taking place at the nearby Capela da Ressurreição on Friday before their funeral at the Igreja Matriz church on Saturday at 10am. Jota and Silva grew up in Gondomar, a small city east of Porto.</p><p>Liverpool have chartered a plane to take club staff to Portugal before the funeral service. Liverpool players, most of whom are currently on holiday, are also expected to be in attendance. The majority were due to report back for the start of pre-season training early next week but all football-related activity at the club, from first team to academy level, has been put on hold. The club’s priority is supporting Jota’s bereaved family.<br /><br />
Jota had been working with Dr Miguel Goncalves in Portugal before his return to pre-season training, having undergone a procedure on his lung. In an interview with Portuguese media outlet Record, Dr Goncalves said: “I said goodbye to him and his brother, André, at around 8.30pm. His brother was a great companion and decided to go with him, to accompany him on the trip, and that way they would also spend more time together.<br /><br />
“They were going to travel at night because it was cooler, but they weren’t going direct. He told me that the journey would take about eight hours but that they would stop at a hotel in the Burgos area to rest. Diogo was very aware of his professionalism. They were only supposed to arrive in Santander today [Friday], catch the boat and then go to England. The family would arrive later by plane, organise their lives over the weekend and then, on Monday, they had a medical appointment scheduled in Liverpool to assess the situation.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jul/04/diogo-jota-portugal-liverpool-wake-tributes">Continue reading...</a>