Cristiano Ronaldo is reacting publicly to the tragic death of his national teammate Diogo Jota.
Jota, who played as a forward for Liverpool FC at the club level and for Portugal at the national level, was killed in a car crash on Thursday near Zamora, Spain. The 28-year-old Jota died along with his younger brother Andre Silva, 25, when the Lamborghini that they were traveling in veered off the road on an isolated stretch of highway (full details here).
The soccer icon Ronaldo was among those who shared emotional public tributes to Jota over social media.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Ronaldo wrote, according to a rough translation from Portuguese. “Just now we were together in the National Team, just now you had gotten married. To your family, your wife, and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. Rest in Peace, Diogo and André. We will all miss you.”
Não faz sentido. Ainda agora estávamos juntos na Seleção, ainda agora tinhas casado. À tua familia, à tua mulher e aos teus filhos, envio os meus sentimentos e desejo-lhes toda a força do mundo. Sei que estarás sempre com eles. Descansem em Paz, Diogo e André. Vamos todos sentir… pic.twitter.com/H1qSTvPoQs
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) July 3, 2025
Ronaldo and Jota were teammates for Portugal and had just won the 2025 UEFA Nations League title together last month. Jota debuted for Portugal’s senior team in 2019, logging 49 total caps and 14 goals scored. Much of that time was spent alongside Ronaldo, Portugal’s longtime captain who is the country’s all-time leader in both caps (221) and goals scored (128).
Jota also won the Premier League title this year with Liverpool, the club’s first such victory since 2020. He is survived by wife Rute Cardoso (his childhood sweetheart whom he had just married on June 22) and the three children they share together (the youngest of whom is only seven months old).
