NI star Conor Bradley among mourners as Liverpool players arrive for funeral of Diogo Jota
The father of three, who had recently married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, was killed alongside his brother Andre Silva after their car burst into flames following a suspected tyre blowout in the early hours of Thursday.
Ms Cardoso was embraced by mourners outside the church. Other family members were visibly emotional as they arrived.
Liverpool stars past and present, including captain Virgil van Dijk and Northern Ireland's Conor Bradley are also attending the service.
The funeral, which begins at 10am, follows a wake held at the Capela da Ressurreicao yesterday.
The brothers' parents attended the Sao Cosme Chapel, with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and Jota's agent also in attendance..
Also present were Liverpool executives and backroom staff, including CEO Billy Hogan, technical director Julian Ward - a former Larne player - and sporting director Richard Hughes.
National team stars Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, João Moutinho, Diogo Dalot and Ricardo Horta also attended the wake.
Queues formed outside the church as people held service sheets featuring pictures of both brothers, the largest one showing Jota smiling in his Liverpool shirt and making a heart sign with his hands.
Liverpool has postponed the players' return for pre-season training following Jota's death.
Manager Arne Slot said the 'sense of shock is absolute', adding: 'He was a loved one to all of us.'
Jordan Henderson pays emotional tribute to Diogo Jota outside Anfield
Jordan Henderson pays emotional tribute to Diogo Jota outside Anfield
On Friday former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson looked visibly upset as he returned to Anfield with flowers and a club scarf. A sea of floral tributes has been left outside the ground.
The club's Northern Ireland player Conor Bradley said Jota was "an incredible footballer but an even better person'.
'When I first moved up from the academy you were always there for me and always helped me settle in with the lads which I'll be forever grateful for,' he said.
'My thoughts are with your wife, children and family for losing both Diogo and Andre. I can't imagine how tough this is for you all, as I know how tough this feels for me today.
'Love you Jots, and I'm sure we will meet again.'
In Belfast, Liverpool supporters gathered to lay flowers outside the club's city centre merchandise store.
The store was closed on Friday as a mark of respect, with cards and flowers laid in his honour.
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The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Liverpool players lay wreaths for Diogo Jota and brother at funeral
Liverpool players were seen carrying wreaths in memory of their late teammate Diogo Jota at the funeral for the Portugal forward and his brother, Andre Silva. Captain Virgil van Dijk and defender Andy Robertson led members of the squad, which included manager Arne Slot, Darwin Nunez and others, to the chapel in Gondomar where the service was held. Robertson and van Dijk held wreaths in the shape of red football shirts bearing Jota and Silva's numbers 20 and 30.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
I imagine Brendan Rodgers has found if difficult to keep focus on football this weekend despite remarkable Celtic trait
I'd imagine Brendan Rodgers has found it difficult to focus on football this weekend. How could Celtic 's manager not be distracted by real life and the tragic goings on around him? On Thursday evening, the coffin carrying Lisbon Lion John Clark, a friend and former colleague, was taken to the church closest to Celtic Park for the service that would precede 'Luggy's' burial the following day. But, before then, the awful story of Liverpool's Diogo Jota, and his brother, being killed in a car crash in Spain, leaving behind a wife and three young children, dominated the news agenda. Rodgers – a husband, father, grandfather and former Liverpool manager – must have been consumed by a sense of devastating loss. Football is always described as being the most important of the things that are least important. Brendan will have been given, in a period of 48 hours, an even more intimate understanding of what that actually means. Friday night's pre-season friendly for Celtic against Queen's Park at Lesser Hampden will doubtless have been a difficult occasion for him to negotiate. The days ahead, with more games to come in his native Ireland and abroad, will need to be dealt with almost as part of a healing process. That's why it seems almost like an intrusion into someone's privacy to ask questions of Brendan's professional life as the start to the new season approaches. But that is unlikely to be a commonly held inclination, particularly in the wake of the stunning piece of business that was Nicolas Kuhn's transfer to Italian side Como. Celtic's capacity for turning modest purchases into gargantuan sales is remarkable. But, at the same time, this one demands the financial rewards be devoted to acquiring a reliable central-defensive partner for Cameron Carter Vickers without passing off the usual suspects in the squad as adequate accomplices. And you can add a high-calibre striker plus another wide player to the list of essential requirements. Anything less than that betrays the manager in the midst of a transfer window in which no money has been spent as yet by Celtic. Benjamin Nygren's arrival was paid for by the kick-back from Jeremie Frimpong's move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool earlier this summer. But Rodgers is revered by people in the game because of his capacity for dealing with human relationships, as was evidenced by his summary of Celtic's transfer business, incoming and outgoing, in an interview last Wednesday. Particularly striking was his insight regarding the return of Kieran Tierney to the club after his years at Arsenal. He said: 'I was with him during the summer so know at first hand how excited Kieran is to be here.' Tierney is an icon in the eyes of the Celtic support. Rodgers had clearly gone out of his way to look the defender in the eye and establish the depth of his commitment surrounding what will always be put into written and verbal short-hand as an 'emotional return' to the club he has supported from boyhood. Celtic are getting Tierney at the age of 27, a mature individual compared to the youngster who had his teeth rearranged by Aberdeen's Jayden Stockley during the 2017 Scottish Cup Final. But who raced from Hampden, underwent dental treatment and was back for the presentation of the trophy he dramatised by grabbing cup and club badge on his shirt at the same time. Tierney's body might have suffered the ravages of time in the game since then but his spirit is imperishable and his manager will need that quality in his dressing-room over the months ahead. Particularly since Kieran will replace the outgoing Greg Taylor, now with PAOK in Greece. It was another indication of Rodgers' dealings with his players that Taylor called him personally to break the news of his decision to reject the contract extension his manager was so keen for him to sign. Over two spells in charge at Celtic, Rodgers has shown himself to be invaluable based on his influence within the club as well as the trophies won. The manager has now discussed incoming players and outgoing favourites but not his own plans for the future. It's now difficult to see how he can do that. If he intends to leave next summer, a public announcement of that fact would cast a shadow over what is to come. And Rodgers would want to avoid negativity on that scale because of the effect it would have on players and fans. At the end of the day he, like the rest of us, is entitled to do what he believes to be best for him and his family. Because he, like the rest of us, has recently been given cause to understand the precious nature of life and the advisability of establishing priorities.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Diogo Jota's distraught family joined by footballing stars for heart-wrenching funeral days after car crash
The devastated family and friends of Liverpool star Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva gathered for a moving funeral on Saturday, two days after their tragic deaths in a car crash in Spain. Dozens of stars and high-profile figures from across the footballing world arrived for a sombre service in Gondomar, near Porto, tears flowing as they bade goodbye to the brothers. The service took place in the same church where Jota was married just 11 days earlier. Jota, 28, a father of three, died alongside Andre Silva, 25, when their Lamborghini flew off the side of the A-52 road in northwestern Spain and erupted in flames on Thursday following a suspected tyre blow out. Footballing stars, legends and agents joined Jota's visibly devastated family and his wife, Rute Cardoso, for the service. Ms Cardoso cut a distraught figure, weeping as she followed behind her late husband's coffin as it was carried into the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and left-back Andy Robertson arrived with football shirt-shaped wreaths with Jota's Number 20 on the back, followed closely by manager Arne Slot and other players from the club including Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez. Former players Jordan Henderson and James Milner also attended. Premier League stars including Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City, Joao Felix and Renato Veiga of Chelsea, Nelson Semedo from Wolves, and former Liverpool players Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara also joined for the service. Ruben Neves, one of Jota's closest friends with whom he played for both Wolves and Portugal, acted as a pallbearer for his coffin after flying in from Florida where he had played a Club World Cup match the night before. Along with his Portuguese teammate Joao Cancelo, Neves was seen sobbing during a moment's silence before Friday's game. After the service came to an end, Ave Maria was played on the loudspeakers as funeral goers spilled out of the church, embracing tearfully. The coffins were carried out of the church, Ms Cardoso helping lift Jota's casket, leaning her head on it as the procession moved away. Also in attendance were Porto president Andre Villas-Boas, Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, and former Portugal manager Fernando Santos. 'They are (have been) really sad days, as you can imagine, but today we have shown we are a very large, but close family,' Martinez told media outside the church, in a short interview broadcast on Sky Sports News. 'We are Portugal, and it was essential for us that (with) Andre Silva and Diogo Jota, we are together and we will always be together and their spirit will be with us forever. 'Thank you very much for your messages, for your support and everything that we have received (from) all over the world. It means a lot and today we are all one football family.' Manchester City and Portugal star Bernardo Silva told Portuguese broadcaster TVI: 'I can't even imagine the pain of the family, of Rute, of the children, of the parents. '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 is 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.' The crash occurred after a tyre blowout while the car was overtaking another, Spain's Civil Guard said on Thursday. The car, reported to be a Lamborghini, left the side of the road and erupted in flames. It is unknown which brother was driving. Jota was returning to the UK to join pre-season training with Liverpool, after undergoing a minor operation in Portugal. Due to his recent surgery, he had reportedly been advised to take the ferry rather than travel by plane.
