Family, friends and teammates, past and present, gathered to pay their respects to Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, whose funerals were held in Gondomar, Portugal, on Saturday morning.
Jota, who was 28, and André, who was 25, were killed in a car crash near Zamora, Spain, in the early hours of Thursday.
Current and former Liverpool teammates, including club captain Virgil Van Dijk and manager Arne Slot, carried two red floral tributes into the chapel, each in the shape of a shirt.
The one carried by Van Dijk had the No. 20 written in white flowers, which Jota wore on his Liverpool shirt. The other bore the No. 30, which was worn by Jota’s brother, who played for FC Peñafiel in Portugal’s second division.
Dressed in black and with their heads bowed, the teammates entered the church in silence. The only sound was the applause from the crowd outside.
Rute Cardoso, who married her childhood sweetheart Jota only weeks before the fatal crash, arrived with relatives.
Portugal teammates Bruno Fernandes, João Cancelo, Renato Veiga, João Félix, José Fonte, Danilo, Adrien Silva were also present.
Bernardo Silva was seen carrying flowers as he entered the church. The Liverpool team delegation also arrived.
Hundreds of residents of Gondomar, a small town in northern Portugal where Jota grew up, gathered outside.
The private service for family and close friends was presided over by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda.
In an emotional homily addressed to Jota’s parents, his wife and their three young children, Linda said “solidarity in love is always stronger than death.”
Penafiel players carried André’s coffin into the church. Rúben Neves helped to carry Jota’s coffin. Jota’s wife was consoled by family as she followed the coffins.
“I can’t even imagine the pain of the family, of Rute, of the children, of the parents,” Silva told TVI before the funeral, in quotes reported by Record. “I must talk a little about Jota, who was a great friend to all of us.
“His career, although not the most important thing, speaks for itself. His passion, will and determination allowed him to succeed in life and have a brilliant career. More important than that, as a person … the memories that remain … Jota will remain in our hearts forever. He will always be present at all breakfasts, lunches, dinners, national team gatherings, PlayStation or card games.
“It’s a very tough episode for all of us, because we spent a lot of time together. The memories I have with him are fantastic. These happy memories will remain; he will be present in every victory. I’m sure we will remember him with great joy every day. … [It is] a very sad moment for all of us. The No. 20 was already special, and now it will be even more so.
“We were rivals and teammates for many years. He became a great friend; he was present at my wedding. Unfortunately, I wasn’t at his, because I was at the Club World Cup. It’s a family that will always be with us and that we will try to preserve.”
Jota and Rute had married in Porto on June 22 after knowing each other since they were children.
Manuel Linda shared a special message for Jota’s three young children, who did not attend the service.
He said: “Dear Dinis, Mafalda and Duarte, children who are not here. At this moment you suffer immensely or maybe not because you don’t realize it. I will pray a lot for you. The ones who suffer the most are your mother and grandparents.
“Seeing the remains of a child must be a great torment, but when there are two urns there are no words. But there are feelings. We are here to say that we also suffered a lot.”
Tributes to Jota and his brother have poured in, while thousands of fans have made their way to Anfield stadium to pay their respects to the Liverpool forward.
Jota made 182 appearances for Liverpool since joining from Wolverhampton Wonderers in 2020. He lifted the Premier League title in May, having previously won the FA Cup and two Carabao Cups in his five years at the club.
He earned 49 caps for Portugal and recently won the UEFA Nations League, having previously done so in 2019.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
