Rute Cardoso, the wife of Liverpool striker Diogo Jota, has described the harrowing moment she learned of the crash that killed her husband and his brother André, just 11 days after their wedding.
In an extract from the biography Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts, Rute recalls the night of 2-3 July 2025, when Diogo and André were driving back through Spain to catch a ferry to the UK. Their hired Lamborghini crashed on the motorway, killing both brothers.
A Night of Growing Anxiety
Rute explains that the couple had planned to stop for the night at a hotel in Benavente, Spain. After they left, she sent Diogo 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 he replied to.
Later that night, the photographer from their wedding sent a video of a surprise dance that Rute and her bridesmaids had organised. She forwarded it to their group chat and sent another message to Diogo saying: 'When you stop, I've got a video to show you.' It was delivered, but never read.
The Discovery
When her subsequent messages to Diogo and André were not delivered, Rute began to fear something had happened. She rang a friend, Catarina, who knew the name of the hotel in Benavente. The hotel receptionist said the two men had not yet arrived.
Rute then contacted her uncle Vítor, a lorry driver, who rang the Spanish traffic police while keeping his Portuguese phone connected to the call with his niece. Rute heard her uncle say into the other phone: 'Yes, two brothers'.
She then heard him tell her brother-in-law Nuno: 'The bodies are being taken away'. Later, a Spanish police officer confirmed he was speaking to Rute Cardoso and stated: 'I hereby declare the death of Diogo José Teixeira da Silva, born on 4 December 1996.'
Aftermath and Tribute
Rute remained in denial, repeatedly saying to her friend Catarina: 'This is a joke, it can't be true. There's no way in the world this can be true!'
She later travelled to the mortuary, where she was shown Diogo's body on a stretcher and André's inside a box. She was given Jota's watch, wallet and wedding ring. She travelled back to Portugal in the van with Diogo's body.
Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts (Reach Sport, £22) is on sale now. Every purchase supports LFC Foundation, with all LFC profits funding a grassroots football programme established in Diogo Jota's name.
