Just 11 days after saying “I do” to the love of his life, Diogo Jota was riding in a rented Lamborghini Huracán.

It wasn’t his personal car, but he wanted to enjoy a different kind of family vacation.

It was the early hours of July 3, 2025.

The right rear tire exploded on the A52 highway in Zamora.

The car veered off the road, crashed violently into an embankment, and was completely engulfed in flames.

The Portuguese footballer and his brother, Andrés Silva, died instantly.

This is the full story of how Diogo Jota lived — one of Liverpool’s most beloved figures — alongside his family.

A life filled with love, struggle, millions, and above all, humanity.

Diogo José Teixeira da Silva was born on December 4, 1996, in Porto, Portugal.

He came from a hardworking family.

From a very young age, he showed an obsession with the ball.

He started at the Gondomar SC Academy and later moved to Paços de Ferreira, where he made his professional debut in 2014.

At 18, with a blend of speed, agility, and goal-scoring ability, he was already attracting the attention of international clubs.

In 2016, he was signed by Atlético Madrid, although he never debuted with their first team.

He was loaned to FC Porto and then to Wolverhampton Wanderers in England, where he truly flourished.

His intense, aggressive, and technical style made him indispensable.

In 2020, Liverpool paid £41 million to secure his services, and since then, his name has been etched in the club’s recent history.

He played over 180 matches for the Reds and scored 65 goals.

He was a vital part of the team that won the Premier League in the 2024-25 season.

But beyond football, Jota had a love story that seemed straight out of a movie.

Since he was 13, he was in love with Rute Cardoso.

They met at school and never parted.

They officially started dating in 2013.

Jota always called her his lifelong partner.

Together, they had three children: a boy born in 2021, a second child in 2023, and a daughter in 2024.

In July 2022, during a vacation in the Balearic Islands, Jota proposed.

Rute said yes.

Finally, on June 22, 2025, they married in an intimate and emotional ceremony surrounded by close family and friends.

Only 11 days later, tragedy struck.

The family home was a luxurious villa located on the outskirts of Lisbon, purchased in 2022 for around $3 million.

The property had everything a family could dream of: a heated pool, private gym, game room, home cinema, and a special room adapted as a gaming studio.

Yes, besides being a footballer, Diogo was passionate about video games.

He had his own esports team and was an active Twitch streamer.

In England, they lived in an elegant townhouse in an exclusive area of Liverpool valued at over £1 million.

They spent the football season there while enjoying their true home in Portugal during breaks.

Regarding his salary, Jota was one of Liverpool’s highest earners, making approximately £140,000 per week — more than £7 million per year, excluding performance bonuses.

His net worth was estimated at around $18 million.

Adding endorsement contracts with Nike and EA Sports plus his gaming investments, the total easily surpassed $40 million.

His lifestyle reflected his success: luxury cars, constant travel, exclusive comforts.

Among his cars were a Porsche 911 Turbo S and a Range Rover Sport.

However, on the day of the accident, he was not driving one of his own vehicles.

He had rented a Lamborghini Huracán for a road trip with his brother.

The car boasted over 600 horsepower, could reach speeds of 325 km/h, and cost over $300,000.

Despite its power and design, a simple tire failure was enough to end his life.

The night of the accident was devastating.

According to reports, Diogo and his brother André were returning from visiting family.

They were heading to Portugal to spend the last days of their vacation before returning to England.

On the A52 highway near Cernadilla, the Lamborghini suffered a tire blowout while overtaking another vehicle.

They lost control, left the road, and the impact was so severe the car burst into flames.

Firefighters took nearly 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

When they managed to retrieve the bodies, they were charred beyond recognition.

There was no way to revive them.

The news was confirmed by Liverpool through an official statement at 6:30 a.m. British time.

The football world was in shock.

What followed was an outpouring of tributes and homages — from Cristiano Ronaldo to Mohamed Salah, and clubs like Benfica, Manchester City, PSG, and Barcelona.

All showed their respect.

In Liverpool, hundreds of fans flocked to Anfield to leave flowers, jerseys, and messages.

The club decided to retire the number 20 shirt Jota wore for four years.

But one of the noblest gestures came from Liverpool itself.

The club announced that despite Jota’s passing, they would pay in full the remaining two years of his contract.

This means his wife Rute will receive nearly £14 million over the next two years — a gesture reflecting the true meaning of You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Few knew that Jota had recently undergone minor lung surgery, which is why he had decided to avoid flying for a while.

This explained the road trip.

He wanted to protect his health and enjoy time with his loved ones.

In his last interviews, he spoke about his love for his family, his passion for being a father, and his intention to retire early to watch his children grow.

“I’ve achieved more than I dreamed.

Now I just want to be the best dad in the world,” he said in a Portuguese TV interview months before the accident.

His wife described him as a fun, protective, humble man.

His teammates defined him as a beast on the pitch but an angel off it.

Luis Díaz, his teammate and friend, recalled how Jota supported him during his father’s kidnapping in Colombia, even organizing private meetings to help him emotionally.

Today, Diogo Jota’s story is not summarized by goals or statistics.

His legacy is that of a boy from the neighborhood who reached the highest level without losing humility.

A husband who loved deeply, a present father, an unconditional brother, and a professional who gave everything for his passion.

Life was smiling at him; he had it all, but in seconds, everything changed.

This was Diogo Jota’s life with his family before the accident — full of love, effort, luxury, and values that money cannot buy.

A life that, although short, left an indelible mark on football and millions of hearts.