Diogo Jota's wife and long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, shared a heartfelt Instagram post about their wedding just two days before his tragic passing last year. The couple tied the knot on June 22, 2025, celebrating the joyous milestone with stunning photographs shared across social media.
On July 1, Rute uploaded four breathtaking pictures of herself in her beautiful wedding dress. In what are now devastatingly poignant four words to her followers, she wrote: "My dream came true". In the comment section, Jota replied: "But I'm the lucky one". In a shattering turn of events, it was confirmed two days after her post that the Liverpool footballer had lost his life in a car crash in Spain.
Fatal Accident Details
The Portuguese forward died alongside his younger brother Andre Silva in the collision in Zamora in the early hours of July 3. A statement from local authorities confirmed that Guardia Civil had launched an investigation into a road accident at 12.30am on the A52 in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora. It added: "In the absence of a conclusion of the experts' evidence, everything points that a car left the road, due to a tyre blowout while overtaking. Both vehicle occupants were killed by the accident. After identification, the victims are Diogo Jota, Liverpool player, and his brother Andre Felipe."
Tributes at World Cup 2026
Jota had been expected to feature in Portugal's World Cup 2026 squad this summer. Despite his absence, his international team-mates will be paying tribute to his memory throughout the tournament. Roberto Martinez's squad are set to don commemorative wristbands bearing the names of all 26 players, alongside that of Jota. Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha revealed the team's plans to honour Jota's memory through the wristbands, which were presented to the squad by Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.
Speaking ahead of their Group K opener against DR Congo, Vitinha said: "Basically, the story of the wristband is, when we went to meet with the Prime Minister, he offered us this wristband. They made sure that it was a wristband that we could wear on the pitch. It has all the specifics for us to be able to enter the pitch with it, with the name of all the players plus the special name of Diogo Jota. He let us choose if we wanted to use it or not, how (we use it), during the day or during the match. We received it with a lot of affection and we chose to use it." Jota's name was also included in Portugal's official announcement of their World Cup 2026 squad last month.
