Rute Cardoso, the wife of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, has described the final messages she exchanged with her husband before he and his brother André Silva were killed in a car crash in Spain on July 3, 2025. Her account appears in a new biography, Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts, published by Reach Sport.
Jota, 28, and his brother André, also a professional footballer, died when their hired Lamborghini crashed on a motorway in Zamora, Spain. The accident came just 11 days after Jota married Rute, his childhood sweetheart, in Porto. Jota had recently lifted the Premier League title with Liverpool and the Nations League with Portugal, and was returning to the UK for pre-season training via ferry after being advised against flying following minor lung surgery.
A Surprising Fondness for Fast Cars
In the book, Rute recalls that Jota, unlike many players, was not usually interested in fancy cars, jewellery or watches. “He was happy with the cars we had,” she says. However, during the summer of 2025, he hired a Ferrari and then a Lamborghini, which he had to drop off in Santander.
Before setting off on the journey to Santander, Jota and André visited Rute's sister's house so the family could say goodbye. Rute recalls going to “put the boys to bed” and then finding the brothers almost ready to leave. They planned to stop overnight at a hotel in Benavente, Spain.
The Last Messages
Shortly after they left, Rute sent Jota a message saying “Safe journey”. He replied with an emoji, and she told him to keep his eyes on the road. “It was the last message that he replied to,” she said.
At around 22:40 on the night of the accident, the wedding photographer sent Rute a video of a surprise dance she and her bridesmaids had organised for Jota at their wedding. She forwarded it to their group chat and then sent Jota another message: “When you stop, I’ve got a video to show you.” The message was delivered but never read.
Later, when she expected the brothers to have reached the hotel, Rute sent a message asking “Well?” A grey tick appeared, but no second tick to confirm delivery. Further messages to Jota and André were not delivered. Rute began to fear something had happened, despite her sister's suggestion that they might be in an area with poor reception or their phones might have run out of battery.
The Night of the Accident
Rute rang a friend, Catarina, who knew the name of the hotel in Benavente. The hotel receptionist said the two men had not yet arrived. She then phoned André's girlfriend Paula, a hospital in Benavente, and the Spanish police, all without success. Her sister Lídia suggested calling Uncle Vítor, a lorry driver, who might obtain information from the police.
Vítor rang the traffic police while keeping his Portuguese phone connected to the call with Rute. She heard him say: “Yes, two brothers.” Then, in the silence, she heard her uncle tell her brother-in-law Nuno: “The bodies are being taken away.” Rute's mind went blank. She rang Jota's father and André's girlfriend, telling them to come immediately.
Two psychologists from the National Institute of Medical Emergencies arrived to support the family. Uncle Vítor called again, and a Spanish police officer confirmed he was speaking to Rute Cardoso and had Jota's ID. He stated: “I hereby declare the death of Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva, born on 4 December 1996.”
Rute remained in denial, pacing around her sister's yard and walking 11 kilometres that night. She kept saying to her friend Catarina: “This is a joke, it can’t be true.” Eventually, her sister spoke to her heart, and only then did she begin to accept the truth.
At the Scene and the Mortuary
Rute asked the driver to take the same route the brothers had taken. When they reached Kilometre 64, what was left of the car was still there. She tried to get out but the rear doors were locked, and she banged on the glass from inside. A policeman stopped her from approaching the scene, and she agreed to remain at a distance.
At the mortuary, Rute was refused permission to see her husband's body. She saw both bodies through a small window, each placed in a bag. She was given Jota's watch, wallet and wedding ring. The bodies were transferred to vans, and Rute travelled in the van with Diogo's body, accompanied by Catarina, before they returned to Portugal.
Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts (Reach Sport, £22) is on sale now, with all LFC profits funding a grassroots football programme established in Jota's name.
