Diogo Jota, a forward for Liverpool, was 28 when he died in a car accident in Spain.

The catastrophe also claimed the life of Andre Silva, Jota's 26-year-old brother.  He played football for Penafiel, a team in Liga Portugal 2.

 The accident occurred on the A-52 motorway in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora, at 12.30 am local time (11.30 pm BST).

 When a tyre ruptured when overtaking, the vehicle Jota and his brother were in veered off the road and caught fire.

 Jota had three kids and was married to his long-term girlfriend less than two weeks ago.

Jota first joined Wolves on loan in 2017 before deciding to make the switch permanent in 2018. He then joined Liverpool in 2020.

 The 28-year-old assisted Liverpool in winning the FA Cup, the 2022 Carabao Cup, and the Premier League title the previous season.

 In a statement, Liverpool said: "The terrible death of Diogo Jota has devastated Liverpool Football Club.

 "As they attempt to cope with an unfathomable loss, Liverpool FC will not be commenting further at this time and ask that the privacy of Diogo and Andre's family, friends, teammates, and club employees be respected.

 "We will continue to provide them with our full support."

Jota and his brother's hometown of Porto also declared: "Porto is in mourning."  We are shocked and deeply sorry to offer our deepest sympathies to Diogo Jota's family and friends, as well as to his brother, Andre Silva, who was also one of our young players.  I hope they find peace.

"The deaths of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva this morning in Spain have devastated the Portuguese Football Federation and all of Portuguese football," the Portuguese FA said in a statement.

 "In addition to being a remarkable player with almost 50 caps for his country, Diogo Jota was also a remarkable individual who was admired by both opponents and teammates, had a contagious smile, and was well-known in his own neighborhood.

 "The families and friends of Diogo and Andre Silva, as well as Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the teams where the players, respectively, played, have my sincere condolences and the sympathies of the Portuguese Football Federation.

"Two champions have left us.  We shall make every effort to uphold Diogo and Andre Silva's legacy every day because their deaths constitute irreversible losses for Portuguese football.

 They also mentioned that the association had asked for a minute of silence before Thursday night's Women's Euros match between Portugal and Spain.

Before joining Atletico Madrid in 2016, Jota started his career in his home country of Portugal, where he excelled with Pacos de Ferreira.

 However, he never played for the La Liga team; instead, he was loaned to Porto, his birthplace, and then Wolves, where he finally completed a permanent move in 2018.

 Before being signed by Liverpool in September 2020, he played for another two years in the Midlands under Nuno Espirito Santo, another Portuguese.

 Along with winning the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, he most recently assisted Liverpool in winning the Premier League.  He also made an appearance as a substitute in Liverpool's 1-0 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid in 2021–2022.

Jota earned his debut for Portugal in November 2019 and went on to play in Euro 2022 and 2024.  Due to an injury, he was unable to attend the 2022 World Cup.

 He and his nation have won the Nations League thrice, most recently in May.