Family of Liverpool player Diogo Jota gather at chapel after fatal crash

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Gondomar: Family and friends of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother gathered Friday at a church where their bodies have been brought for a...

Gondomar: Family and friends of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother gathered Friday at a church where their bodies have been brought for a wake and funeral, after the Portuguese soccer players were killed in a car crash in Spain.

Some hugged and wept before entering the Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, where the funeral for the siblings is planned for Saturday. Mourners left flowers and candles next to a tree outside the chapel were visitation was held. The brothers’ parents were in attendance, as well as Jota’s agent, Jorge Mendes.

Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the head of state, also visited to pay his respects. Gondomar resident Ricardo Alves lamented the loss of the local star as he passed by the chapel. “It is a great sadness, although I did not know him personally, he was from here and I knew many of his friends from the region where he lived,” Alves said.

It is a great loss, he is a young man, with a lot still to give and he had a somewhat tragic fate.” Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, André Silva, were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway just after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames. Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family, Spanish government officials said.

Jota and his parents both have homes in Gondomar, where he started his playing career as a child. Gondomar is a working-class town next to Porto, where Jota was born. Jota’s death occurred two weeks after he married long-time partner Rute Cardoso while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier League title. The couple had three children, the youngest born last year.