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2025-07-05T120234Z_800223354_RC2BGFAHI3I9_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-LIVERPOOL-PORTUGAL-JOTA.JPG
Cardoso leads mourners (Reuters)
rute cardoso carries diogo jota coffin
Cardoso leads mourners (Reuters)
World News

Catholic funeral for Diogo Jota: ‘We share the hope of believers’

by Anna Rees

The funeral of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, has been held at Igreja Matriz de Gondomar (the Mother Church of Gondomar) in Portugal.

The brothers died in a car crash on Thursday, after a tyre of the Lamborghini they were travelling in blew out.

Just eleven days prior, Jota had married his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, in a Catholic ceremony. The couple shared three young children.

Jose Manuel Macedo, parish priest at Igreja Matriz, told CNN Portugal: “The bodies of the two brothers will be taken to the Easter chapel to pray… then there will be a funeral. We are ready to join people in remembering their lives. At the same time, we share the pain, as well as the hope of the believers.”

Dressed in a white t-shirt, Jota’s widow, Rute Cardoso, touched her husband’s coffin as she led mourners outside the church.

The service was attended by fellow Liverpool players, who carried floral tributes in the shape of team shirts, decorated with player numbers ‘20’ and ‘30’ for Jota and Silva respectively.

Former Liverpool manager and Christian, Jürgen Klopp, has described Jota’s death as a faith-shaking moment, writing: “This is a moment where I struggle. There must be a bigger purpose, but I can't see it.

“We will miss you so much. All my prayers, thoughts and strength to Rute, the kids, the family, the friends and everyone who loved them.”

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