Rute Cardoso, the widow of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, has described the devastating final hours before the car crash that killed her husband and his brother, André Silva, on July 3, 2025. In a new biography, she recalls the last messages exchanged and the agonising wait for news.
Final Messages and a Growing Unease
Jota, 28, had married Cardoso in Porto just 11 days before the accident, after celebrating Premier League and Nations League titles. He was travelling with his brother, also a professional footballer, to catch a ferry back to the UK for pre-season training, having been advised to avoid flying after minor lung surgery.
Cardoso told the biography that she sent Jota a message saying "Safe journey" shortly after he left, to which he replied with an emoji. "I told him to keep his eyes on the road," she recalled. That was the last message he answered.
Later that night, after receiving a video of a surprise dance from their wedding, she sent another message: "When you stop, I've got a video to show you." It was delivered but never read.
The Night of the Crash
When further messages went undelivered, Cardoso's concern grew. She called the hotel in Benavente, Spain, where the brothers were due to stop overnight, but they had not checked in. She then contacted André's girlfriend and a hospital in Benavente, before reaching out to her uncle Vítor, a lorry driver, who contacted Spanish traffic police.
Overhearing her uncle say "Yes, two brothers" into another phone, Cardoso's fears intensified. She later heard him tell her brother-in-law: "The bodies are being taken away." Two psychologists from the National Institute of Medical Emergencies arrived to support the family.
Confirmation and Aftermath
A Spanish police officer confirmed Jota's death, stating: "I hereby declare the death of Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva, born on 4 December 1996." Cardoso described walking 11 kilometres that night, pacing around her sister's yard in disbelief.
At the mortuary, she was shown her husband's body on a stretcher and André's inside a box. She was handed Jota's watch, wallet and wedding ring. The bodies were later taken back to Portugal, with Cardoso travelling in the van alongside Diogo's body.
The biography, "Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts" (Reach Sport, £22), is on sale now. Every purchase supports the LFC Foundation, with all LFC profits funding a grassroots football programme established in Diogo Jota's name.
