Diogo Jota's wife's loyalty to Liverpool after footballer died in car crash
Diogo Jota's wife supported his Liverpool dream in the months leading up to his death. Diogo played for the team in the UK before his sad death at the age of 28 following a tragic car accident.
Rute Cardoso was a keen support for her husband throughout his entire footballing career, which continued when he made the move to Liverpool. The family would dress up in matching merch, including the dogs.
Alongside, a post of her and Diogo and pictures of their young family - their children and their dogs in Liverpool FC merchandise - she wrote the lyrics: "Walk on, walk on. With hope in your heart. And you'll never walk alone. You'll never walk alone. Walk on, walk on. With hope in your heart. And you'll never walk alone. You'll never walk alone."
In a heartbreaking statement, Liverpool FC paid tribute to Diogo and spoke of the club and family's "unimaginable loss".
"Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre," they said.
"Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre's family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss. We will provide them with our full support."
Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves back in 2020 for a fee of around £45million. During his time at Liverpool, he helped them win the Premier League, FA Cup and the League Cup.
Pedro Proenca, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, has also paid tribute to the player and his brother. "The Portuguese Football Federation and all of Portuguese football are completely devastated by the death of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, this early morning, in Spain," he said in a statement.
"Much more than an amazing player, with almost 50 international appearances for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, someone with an infectious joy and a reference in the community itself.
"On my behalf, and on behalf of the Portuguese Football Federation, I express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and Andre Silva, as well as Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs where, respectively, they played their football. On my behalf, and on behalf of the Portuguese Football Federation, I express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and Andre Silva, as well as Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs where, respectively, they played their football."
He added: "The Portuguese Football Federation has already asked Uefa for a minute's silence, this Thursday, before the match of our national team with Spain, in the women's European Championship... The loss of Diogo and Andre represent irreplaceable losses for Portuguese football and we will do everything, daily, to honour their legacy."
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Cabral, the world number 40 in men's doubles, was seen with the ribbon on his shirt sleeve during his second-round defeat on Friday, after the All England Club relaxed its strict all-white dress code to allow tributes to the Liverpool forward. Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in Spain on Thursday while travelling to catch a ferry to the UK ahead of pre-season. Cabral said he was driving to Wimbledon when he heard the news, describing the footballer as 'an idol, such an icon, such a good person' in Portugal. 'I just wish all the best for his family,' he added. 'He's very inspiring for me.' Liverpool fan and British doubles player Neal Skupski had also brought a black armband for his match on Thursday but opted not to wear it. The 25-year-old then found out about the death of his grandmother shortly after coming off court of his first-round win alongside fellow Briton Joe Salisbury. Skupski suggested he may wear one later in the tournament, saying: 'Maybe in the next couple of days.'
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Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TOGETHER since their teens, Diogo Jota and new wife Rute Cardoso chased a footballing dream. When his burgeoning career in their native Portugal resulted in a move to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, she described herself as his 'best friend' and 'number one fan'. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Diogo Jota and Rute Cardoso married on June 22 Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk 6 The couple were together for 13 years 6 They were joined at the ceremony by their three children 6 Rute supported Jota from an early age Credit: Instagram 6 Their youngest child was born in December Credit: Instagram 6 The pair were childhood sweethearts Credit: Instagram It was a shared ambition that would take them back to home town club Porto and then Wolverhampton Wanderers before his trophy-laden glory years at Liverpool's Anfield. A couple who met at school aged 13, their marriage a mere 11 days ago sealed a romance that had already produced three cherubic children. Joyous wedding photographs, showing a young family on life's great journey, are now heartbreaking to look at. Sons Dinis, four, and Duarte, two, are in the same dark blue jackets, cream waistcoats and blue ties as their footballer father. A baby girl, not named publicly, wears a miniature tiara and ivory-coloured gown to match her mother. Now Ruta is a widow at 28. The children lost both a father and an uncle in the terrible early hours crash on a lonely Spanish motorway. Just 20 hours earlier, Diogo and Rute wrote on social media that their wedding was a 'day we will never forget'. Under one photo, she wrote, 'My dream came true' — to which Diogo had replied: 'But I'm the lucky one.' Social media images show family life including trips to Lapland and Sardinia, photos with pet beagles and in red strips of Liverpool on the pitch at Anfield and at Wembley. It was a love forged in Portugal's beautiful second city Porto where forward Jota was born in December 1996. His birth name was Diogo José Teixeira da Silva. As a promising, pacey young footballer he dropped his surname and used Jota which is the local pronunciation of 'J'. 'Heartbroken' Ronaldo leads tributes to Diogo Jota as football mourns Liverpool & Portugal star Soon, his talents outgrew his local club Gondomar and, aged 16, he moved to lower league club Pacos de Ferreira. Scout Ivo Rodrigues remembers watching Diogo in 2013. He said: 'My eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. He was the youngest on the pitch but I saw he was going to be a star. He could do things that other ones could not.' But attempts by Ivo to sign him for Guimaraes proved fruitless. The year before, an Instagram image showed him with Rute in hoodies and jeans acting like typical teenagers. In 2015, Jota's career might have stalled before it really began. Pre-season tests revealed a heart problem. Showing maturity beyond his years, he wrote: 'I knew it could mean quitting football, but I didn't believe for a second it was going to happen.' A natural goalscorer, he would earn selection for Portugal's international youth teams and soon the big time beckoned. He was snapped up by Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in 2016 when he was 19. Rute wrote of his move: 'I'm anxious. Diogo only left this week, but I already miss him. We've been dating for four years and . . . it makes sense to follow him. In addition to being his girlfriend and best friend, I'm his number one fan, I want to be there.' However, Diogo would never play for the Atletico first team and a month after joining went out on loan to Portuguese giants Porto. At the time, his brother Andre Silva, 25 — also killed in yesterday's fireball crash — was with Porto's youth set-up. Scoring eight goals in 27 appearances, Diogo's performances earned him another loan move the next season — this time to England with Wolves, then in the Championship. His 17 league goals helped Wolves win promotion to the Premier League and secured a permanent move for a reported £12million. Wolves finished seventh the next season as they qualified for the Europa League — a competition in which Diogo bagged an 11-minute hat-trick against Turkish side Besiktas after coming on as a sub. In now poignant comments, he said after that game: 'It makes me proud. It's a story to tell my grandkids when I get old.' He and Rute were able to enjoy the fruits of his success. Instagram photos she posted show her posing on his shoulders at Disneyland Paris and sight-seeing at the London Eye. Captioning an image of them together on a sun-kissed beach in the Maldives, she wrote: 'And suddenly you see your entire future in one person.' In September 2020, Liverpool snapped Diogo up for £45million. He and Rute had made it to one of world football's greatest clubs in the richest and most glamorous league. Then-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said of Diogo: 'He has the speed, he can combine with other players, can defend, can press. It gives us real options for different systems. 'He's 23, still far away from being kind of a finished article — he has so much potential.' A player blessed with the knack of scoring vital goals, he soon became a Kop favourite. A terrace chant for him, including a reference to Portuguese great Luis Figo, went: 'He's a lad from Portugal, better than Figo don't you know, oh his name is Diogo!' In the 2021-22 season, he scored 21 in 55 games — part of an impressive 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool. 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