Who was Andre Silva? All about Diogo Jota's brother who passed away in car crash

Portuguese footballers Andre Silva and his brother Diogo Jota tragically passed away in an automobile accident in Spain on July 3.

Andre Silva was an attacking midfielder for the football club, Penafiel, as per ESPN. Born in 2000, Silva formerly also played for Gondomar, Boavista U23, and Famalicão U23, according to Transfer Market. He played his youth football at Porto FC.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Diogo Jota played for Liverpool as well as for the Portugal national team. He won the UEFA Nations League final against Spain just last month and was instrumental in Liverpool’s Premier League title-winning 2024-25 campaign.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Diogo Jota (@diogoj_18)

Liverpool released a statement following the tragic news of the brothers’ deaths:

“Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.”

The club added:

“Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss. We will continue to provide them with our full support.”

About the accident that took the lives of Andre Silva and Diogo Jota

Andre Silva and Diogo Jota were involved in an automobile accident at 00:30 hours local time, when their Lamborghini’s tyre blew out and caught fire after attempting to overtake another vehicle in Spain’s Zamora, The Guardia Civil reported, according to BBC Sport.

According to The Athletic, the accident took place on the A-52 road on the way to Galicia from Madrid.

The news of Silva and Jota’s deaths was confirmed by a Spanish state-owned TV station, which quoted firefighters who responded to the scene.

Tributes pour in for Andre Silva and Diogo Jota

As per The Athletic, the Portuguese Football Federation released a statement from its president, Pedro Proenca, which read:

“The Portuguese Football Federation and the whole of Portuguese football are completely devastated by the death of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva this morning in Spain. Much more than a fantastic player, with almost 50 caps for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all his team-mates and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference point in his own community.”

The statement also added:

“On behalf of myself and the Portuguese Football Federation, I would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and André Silva, as well as to Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs the players played for respectively…We’ve lost two champions. The deaths of Diogo and André Silva represent irreparable losses for Portuguese football and we will do everything we can to honour their legacy on a daily basis.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Diogo Jota (@diogoj_18)

The Federation also noted that they have requested UEFA to observe silence for a minute to mourn the brothers' passing during the Portuguese national team’s match against Spain during the Women’s European Championship.

UEFA also released a statement honoring the brothers, according to The Sun, which read:

“On behalf of the European football community, we are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Diogo Jota, Portugal international and Liverpool FC forward, along with his brother André Silva. Our thoughts are with their family, friends, teammates and all those affected by this heartbreaking loss.”

Pepe, a former Portuguese player, also wrote a tribute for the brothers, as per The Sun. He wrote:

“In this moment of deep grief, I send my most sincere condolences to their family, friends and all those who loved them. May they find strength in the love and memories they left behind.”

Diogo Jota recently got married to his longtime partner, Rute Cardoso, with whom he shares three children. The footballer had posted images from the wedding to his social media handle just a few hours before his untimely death.