Liverpool’s Portuguese forward Diogo Jota, 28, died in a car crash near Zamora in northwestern Spain with his brother, the Portuguese Football Federation said on Thursday.
The regional fire department of Castile and Leon, where Zamora is located, said on its website a car crashed early on Thursday, shortly after midnight, and burst into flames, with two men, aged 28 and 26, found dead.
“We have lost two champions. Their deaths represent irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything we can to honour their legacy every day,” the Portuguese Football Federation said in a statement.
Bright skies and sunshine to welcome you back to another day at the championships.
Spanish police told Reuters they could not yet officially confirm the names of the deceased, but everything pointed to it being Jota and his brother. The Lamborghini they were travelling veered off the road, the spokesperson said.
The bodies have been taken to a forensics unit in nearby Zamora where autopsies will be performed, they said.
Jota, who got married on June 28, helped Liverpool win the Premier League last season and also won the FA Cup and League Cup with the Merseyside outfit.
Parikiaki extend their condolences to the family
Reuters