Life is so unpredictable! Almost two months ago, he was celebrating the Premier League title with Liverpool. A month ago, he lifted the Nations League trophy with Portugal, and what’s more heartbreaking is that Diogo Jota got married to Rute Cardoso on 22 June 2025, i.e., just ten days before his death. Yes, you heard that right! The 28-year-old Portuguese forward has died following a car crash in Spain, according to a police report. Tributes have been coming in ever since this news broke out on social media, and tennis stars including Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, and many more have joined hands to pay their condolences to Jota’s family.

Born on 4 December 1996, in Porto, Portugal, Diogo Jota started his career with Paços de Ferreira before signing for the La Liga club Atlético Madrid in 2016. He was known for his clinical finishes, explosive runs, and incredible dribbling ability. Considering his enormous talent and his ability to dribble past opponents with ease, it didn’t take too long for him to gain the attention of the big clubs. In 2020, he signed for Liverpool for a fee of around £41 million and then? He went on to become one of their biggest stars!

The demise of one of their biggest stars is a bit shocking for not only the Liverpool fans but also for their ex-manager, Jurgen Klopp. In a social media post, he wrote, “we will miss you so much.” This heartbreaking news drew reactions from not only football but also across various other sports. For example, Carlos Alcaraz shared a picture of Diogo Jota on his IG stories and wrote, “Rest in peace Diogo and Andre. My sincere condolences to your loved ones.” Jota was travelling in the car with his brother Andre when this incident took place.

How did it happen, though? As per several reports, Diogo Jota and his brother died in a car crash in northwestern Spain (Zamora province) early (around 00:30 a.m.) on Thursday, when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames. According to the evidence that has been recovered from the scene, it suggests that his car suffered a burst tyre while overtaking. Due to this, the vehicle then flipped over and ended up in the central reservation. Jota had recently undergone surgery, so that was the probable reason why he was driving from Porto to Santander to catch a ferry to England for pre-season training. 

Looking at the images that have been circulating on social media, it seemed the earth was scorched, and piles of debris were clearly spotted at the scene. Absolutely devastating! Reacting to this news, tennis legend Rafael Nadal dropped a tweet saying, “What sad and painful news. All my love, affection, and support go out to his wife, children, family, and friends at this difficult time. Rest in peace, Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.” Tennis legend, Martina Navratilova, also shared a tweet with the caption, “So tragic… RIP Diogo… and Andre.” Alexander Zverev shared a picture of Jota on his IG stories, and Ben Shelton wrote, “RIP 💔🕊️” in his IG stories.

Cristiano Ronaldo was absolutely shocked to hear this news as he wrote, “It doesn’t make sense. We were together just recently in the national team, and you just got married.” Not only from soccer and tennis, but reactions came in from the NBA world as well. LA Lakers player, LeBron James wrote, “My prayers goes out to his loved ones during this time! May you all be guided and protected! YNWA JOTA!!” Following this heartbreaking news, even Wimbledon made a rare exception this week. What’s that?

As the tennis world mourns the sudden demise of Diogo Jota, Wimbledon comes up with an unprecedented change

UEFA has already announced that there will be a minute’s silence before Thursday and Friday’s Women’s European Championship games. Now, Wimbledon has come up with a major change. The tournament organizers have announced that they will allow players to wear black armbands to pay tribute to the Portuguese soccer star, Diogo Jota. The All England club is usually bound by a strict all-white dress code for all the tennis players, so this will be a rare scenario for this historic tennis tournament. Check out EssentiallySports’ minute by minute update of the Championships here

This move came after Portuguese tennis player Francisco Cabral expressed his desire to wear one black armband in his next match to show solidarity across sports. Cabral grew up in Porto, the same city as Jota, and shared mutual friends with the Liverpool star. He learned about this tragic news while he was on his way to play his doubles match in the first round of Wimbledon with Lucas Miedler.

Talking about this heartbreaking news, the tennis star said, “Obviously, very, very sad news. Not only in the sports world but in Portugal overall. He’s such an idol. Such an icon. Such a good person. I am very sad to hear what happened. I got the news when I was driving to Wimbledon. I wish all the best for his family. He had great people around him. I hope they can get through it. He was really hard working, what he had come through, what he had conquered in his career and life. Very inspiring for me.”

He further added, “He plays in the national team. One of the best teams in the world. I followed the games, and when he scored, I was happy for him. In the back of my head, while I was playing, I was sad as everyone is in Portugal. I had to play the game. I had to focus on my game. I’m sad, of course.” When he was asked if he would be willing to wear a black armband in Diogo Jota’s memory, he said he is open to doing it and also said he will be open to a one-minute silence as well.

Even the former British doubles world number one Neal Skupski shared a tweet stating, “Tragic news. YNWA.” Seeing all these emotional posts across different sports, one thing is for sure: You Will Never Walk Alone, Jota!