Diogo Jota’s family and former Liverpool teammates gathered in Gondomar, Portugal for the funeral of the late soccer star and his brother, André Silva.
According to CNN, Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, who was also a professional footballer, died in a car crash in Spain early on Thursday morning, plunging the soccer world into mourning.
Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, with whom he shares three young children and who he married less than two weeks before the crash, was pictured embracing other mourners as she arrived at the church ahead of the service on Saturday morning.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and left back Andy Robertson led the tributes from Jota’s former club, carrying bunches of red flowers in the shape of the two brothers’ jerseys.
They were accompanied by other members of the team, including Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Núñez and Ibrahima Konaté. The team’s manager, Arne Slot, along with CEO Michael Edwards, was also present.
Later, bells rang out at the church as a long line of mourners accompanied the brothers’ coffins inside. Portugal star Rúben Neves, Jota’s former teammate with the national team and with Wolverhampton Wanderers, was among the pallbearers. Another person walked in front of the coffins, carrying a black-and-white photo of Silva that read “Para Sempre Um De Nos” – “Forever One Of Us.”
Figures from Portugal’s national soccer team, including its head coach Roberto Martínez, Manchester City stars Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes and Chelsea forward João Félix were also in Gondomar
