The football world was shocked by the sudden passing of talented striker Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva after a tragic accident. The Lamborghini blew a tire and lost control while trying to overtake another car on the A-52 motorway at Cernadilla near Zamora (just 16km from the Portuguese border).
The car is believed to have flipped over and caught fire. Despite the quick response of paramedics and firefighters, the Jota brothers could not be saved. Diogo and Andre had travelled from Portugal through northern Spain to the port of Santander, where they would board a ferry to England. Jota did not fly because his doctor had advised against flying because of his health concerns following lung surgery.
Notably, physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves was the last person to speak to Jota at 8:30pm on April 2, just before the player made his journey to England. At 0:35am on April 3, the tragic accident occurred.
Dr Goncalves revealed Jota’s final moments and confirmed that neither he nor his brother had consumed alcohol while driving. He told Record: “Diogo was very professional and careful. He was scheduled to return to Liverpool for a check-up on April 7. I was really shocked when I heard the news.
I spoke to Diogo and Andre at 8.30pm. He has a wonderful little brother who is accompanying his brother on the trip. They will have a lot of time together. They told me they would travel at night because it is cooler but they would not go straight to England.
Jota said the trip would take about eight hours, so they would stop at a hotel in the Burgos area to rest. Diogo was very professional. He was only supposed to arrive in Santander today and take the ferry to England. The family would fly straight to England and arrange everything over the weekend.
I can confirm that Diogo and Andre were not partying. They were happy, relaxed and showed no signs of anything unusual.”
Speaking about Jota’s lung condition, Dr Goncalves said: “Jota’s right lung collapsed but he has made an incredible recovery. He has followed my advice very closely. After yesterday’s session with me, Jota is pain-free and will return to Liverpool.
Jota is very excited and confident about his recovery. He is looking forward to next season. Jota told me that he will not be on the pre-season tour, Liverpool will go to Japan to strengthen his recovery. He is confident that he will have a great season ahead of him.”
Jota’s funeral will be held at the São Cosme chapel, about a 30-minute drive from his hometown of Porto, where he married his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, on June 22. The burial will take place at 10 a.m. on July 5 at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church, adjacent to the chapel.