What Cristiano Ronaldo told Diogo Jota's family ahead of funeral as Portugal captain's absence explained

Details of what Cristiano Ronaldo told Diogo Jota's family ahead of the Liverpool star's funeral have been revealed.

Devastating news on Thursday morning confirmed that Liverpool pool star Jota and his brother Andre Silva had died in a car crash in Zamora, Spain in the early hours of the morning.

The pair were travelling back to England when their car suffered a tyre blowout while overtaking, causing them to crash on the danerous A-52 dual carriageway.

As is common in Portugal, the funeral for Jota and his brother took place in his home town of Gondomar on Saturday morning, with Arne Slot and several players of the Liverpool squad in attendance.

Despite posting a heartfelt tribute to his former teammate, Portugal national team captain Ronaldo did not attend the funeral on Saturday, but ensured to send a message to Jota's family ahead of the ceremony.

Other than the Liverpool squad, Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, Manchester United full back Diogo Dalot and fellow Portugal internationals Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves were among the footballers paying their respects at the funeral.

Although Ronaldo was expected to attend, reports have claimed that he instead decided to remain with his family on holiday in Majorca.

Portuguese outlet Record states that Ronaldo decided to make this decision as he didn't want his attendance at Diogo and Andre Silva's funeral cause a 'media circus.'

Instead, the Al Nassr striker spoke with Jota's wife Rute Cardoso, telling her that he will always be there for her and Jota's three young children.

However, this wasn't good enough for some people, with sports journalist and commentator Luis Cristovao claiming that Ronaldo's absence was 'inexplicable'

He said: "Being inexplicable, any justification will fall short of the shortcoming he committed with his absence."

What has Ronaldo said about Diogo Jota's tragic death?

Shortly after news of Jota's fatal accident were made public, Ronaldo took to social media to release an emotional statement and send condolences to his family.

Ronaldo wrote: “It doesn't make sense. Just now we were together in the National Team, just now you had gotten married. To your family, your wife, and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. "Rest in Peace, Diogo and André. We will all miss you.”