Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has shared a tear-jerking tribute to the late Liverpool footballer, Diogo Jota and his brother Andre following their devastating deaths
Sarah Ferguson has issued a direct message to the wife of Diogo Jota following his heartbreaking death, aged just 28. The Liverpool FC footballer and his brother tragically died after a fatal car crash in Spain, just ten days after he married his wife, Rute Cardoso.
Diogo and his brother Andre spun off the road before their car caught fire. One of the tyres had blown out while overtaking another car on the A-52, around 70 miles west of Valladolid, causing it to veer off the road. The incident occurred at around 12.40am. The blaze had spread to nearby vegetation which was eventually put out by firefighters, with the assistance from the Civil Guard.
Medical officials later confirmed the death of the two occupants of the car shortly after arriving on the scene. Tributes have flooded in for the Liverpool star and his brother. Adding to those messages of condolence in a touching statement shared on her Instagram, the Duchess of York said: “I simply cannot fathom the pain of losing two cherished sons. It is a loss beyond words.
“My heartfelt sympathy is with Rute, Diogo’s newlywed widow, the precious children who have lost their devoted father, and all those who loved these two extraordinary athletes, Diogo and Andre. May their light and legacy continue to inspire the world.”
The Duchess isn’t the only member of the Royal Family to issue a tribute. Just hours after Diogo’s death was confirmed, Prince William took to social media to issue a rare post. Taking to Instagram, the Prince of Wales signed off his post with “W”, signalling that it was him.
He penned: “As part of the footballing family, I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Diogo Jota and his brother. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who knew him @LFC @Wolves. W.”
Since the news of Diogo’s death, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard in Zamora said: “The investigation into the crash is being carried out by Civil Guard traffic officers. We believe the car suffered a blowout from the marks on the road. The full police report once it is completed will be submitted to a duty court in Zamora which has launched an ongoing judicial investigation into this crash.
“That report is going to take time to complete, probably about four or five days but possibly longer. At this moment in time it is impossible to say at exactly what speed the car was going but that is something the Civil Guard investigators will be able to detail at least approximately in their final report from things like the skid marks. What I can confirm is that no other vehicle was involved and no-one else was hurt.”
Police who arrived at the scene had been unable to ID the pair, with only the licence plate from the car they were driving to go on. Diogo had married Rute, the mother of his three children, just ten days ago and said he was “the luckiest man in the world” after tying the knot. Tragically, Rute had to identify her childhood sweetheart following his death.
She told the police that Jota and his brother had planned to spend the night in Benavente and continue their journey on Thursday to reach Santander before catching a ferry to Portsmouth, according to reports in Portugal.
Psychological assistance was requested for Jota’s wife and the personal belongings that were saved from the Lamborghini fire were given to her. It was one of the brothers’ relatives who alerted them that they had not arrived in Benavente, and later, they verified in the documentation that they were Portuguese subjects.
Jota’s former team, Liverpool have also issued a moving statement. They said: “Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.
“Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss. We will continue to provide them with our full support.”
He joined the team from Wolves in 2020 and scored 65 goals during his 182 appearances for the Reds, including six last season when they won the Premier League title. Jota had also won the FA Cup and League Cup with Liverpool and the Nations League twice with the Portuguese national team.
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