The brothers’ bodies arrived at the Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, where family, friends, and fans wept, embraced, and left flowers and candles in tribute. A funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
Among those in attendance were the players’ parents, Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes, and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who paid his respects in person.
Jota, 28, and Silva, 25, died when their Lamborghini veered off an isolated highway near Zamora in northwestern Spain shortly after midnight on Thursday. The car burst into flames.
Spanish authorities suspect a blown tire may have caused the crash. No other vehicles were involved, and investigators have yet to determine which brother was driving.
Jota had been returning to Liverpool following a break after the Premier League season, during which he helped the club win the title. He had married his longtime partner Rute Cardoso just two weeks earlier. The couple shared three children, the youngest born last year.
According to Portuguese media, the brothers were driving overnight to Santander, on Spain’s northern coast, to catch a boat to England. Jota was avoiding air travel due to a recently treated lung condition, said Miguel Gonçalves, a physical therapist who treated him hours before the crash.
“He was proud to have recovered from his pulmonary problem,” Gonçalves told Record. “He was happy to be with his brother. They were excited to spend some time together on the trip.”
The deaths shocked Portugal and the football world. Outside Liverpool’s Anfield stadium, fans laid scarves and floral wreaths. A moment of silence was held before Portugal’s Women’s Euro match against Spain in Switzerland.
Jota began his football journey in Gondomar, a working-class town near Porto. Locals there spoke of a hometown hero who never forgot where he came from.
“It is a great loss,” said local resident Ricardo Alves. “He was young, with a lot still to give, and he had a tragic fate.”
Jota’s first club, Gondomar SC, remembered him fondly.
“He never forgot his roots or his friends,” said club director Anselmo Serra. “He invited some of them to England to watch Liverpool games. They were a group he always held close.”
André Silva had been playing in Portugal’s lower divisions with Penafiel. The brothers were close, and by all accounts, were looking forward to their final journey together one that ended in heartbreaking tragedy.
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
