Diogo Jota's agent and close friend Jorge Mendes was visibly emotional as he paid tribute to the former Liverpool and Portugal forward following his tragic death.
The 28-year-old and his younger brother Andre Silva, who played for Portuguese second-tier club Penafiel, were involved in a fatal car crash that occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning near Zamora, in northwestern Spain.
It was confirmed by the Spanish Guardia Civil that their car, a green Lamborghini, left the road due to a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle. It then caught fire on the A-52 at Cernadilla – just ten miles over the border from Portugal.
Jota and Silva were driving to Santander to catch a ferry back to England ahead of the start of Liverpool's pre-season training on Monday.
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Tributes have poured in from the football world and beyond, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot sharing tributes following the crash, which happened just 11 days after Jota married his long-term girlfriend Rute Cardoso.
Jorge Mendes, who was Jota's agent for a number of years, is currently in Spain with the 28-year-old's family, providing support after the bodies were transferred to a morgue in Puebla de Sanabria, a town located in the province of Zamora.
As per The Athletic, specialist counsellors were brought in to support the relatives on Thursday, including Rute Cardoso, who had travelled from Portugal to be there.
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Mendes arrived in the evening alongside Joao Camacho, an agent from Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute organisation. Here, a visibly emotional Mendes spoke to reporters as he paid tribute to the former Liverpool and Wolves forward.
"I still don't believe it, I still don't believe it, this is very difficult, very difficult for me," he said. "He was a great husband, a great husband and a great professional."
Andy Robertson pays emotional tribute to Diogo Jota
On Thursday evening, Liverpool defender Robertson delivered a heartfelt tribute to Jota and his younger brother Andre.
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"The ones I’m thinking about most right now are the family. Their loss is too much to bear. I’m so sorry that they have lost two such precious souls – Diogo and Andre," he said. "For the team and the Club, we’ll try to cope with this together… however long that takes.
"For me, I want to talk about my mate. My buddy. The bloke I loved and will miss like crazy. I could talk about him as a player for hours, but none of that feels like it matters right now. It’s the man. The person. He was such a good guy. The best. So genuine. Just normal and real. Full of love for the people he cared about. Full of fun.
"He was the most British foreign player I’ve ever met. We used to joke he was really Irish… I’d try to claim him as Scottish, obviously. I even called him Diogo MacJota.
"We’d watch the darts together, enjoy the horse racing. Going to Cheltenham this season was a highlight - one of the best we had.
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"The last time I saw him was the happiest day of his life – his wedding day. I want to remember his never-ceasing smile from that magical day. How much he was bursting with love for his wife and family.
"I can’t believe we’re saying goodbye. It’s too soon, and it hurts so much. But thank you for being in my life, mate – and for making it better. Love you, Diogo."
Topics: Diogo Jota, Liverpool, Jorge Mendes
Jack Kenmare