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President of Porto André Villas-Boas pays tribute to Jota

Porto president André Villas-Boas paid tribute to Liverpool player Diogo Jota, who died at the age of 28 following a car accident.

The Portuguese striker was travelling with his brother André Silva in northern Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning when his car was involved in a fatal crash.

It's been reported the accident, on the A52 known as Palacios de Sanabria, near the city of Zamora, was the result of a blown-out tyre as Jota and Andre Silva, himself a player for Portuguese side Penafiel, were making their way towards a ferry that was bound for the UK ahead of a return to pre-season training.

A wake for the brothers was held at Sao Cosme Chapel in the town of Gondomar near Porto today.

Jota, who was born in Porto, spent a season with the side and Silva spent time in the club's youth set up.

Speaking to the ECHO's Ryan Paton in Gondomar today, Villas-Boas, who previously managed Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham, said: "First of all, on behalf of Porto and myself, condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and Andre.

"They are two big losses because everybody cherished them for what they were, what they represented - their principles and their values.

I think, today we see a family is broken, of their dreams.

"His father, his wife, Andre's girlfriend, their sons - the pain must be unbearable for them and you can see how strongly they have been holding on to so much pain.

Article continues belowDiogo Jota played 49 times for Portugal(Image: Hesham Elsherif/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"I think that is the first thing, the second thing is that Diogo was more of a public figure than Andre with his career.

But he was a silent hero of a generation - a person that was an example as a player and a professional.

"On the pitch, he was a partner of FC Porto, who he supported.

Andre was with us for seven years in our youth academy, Diogo was only with us for one year but it was a lightning year where he scored a lot of goals and left a lot of good memories.

"Sincerely I hope the family can overcome so much pain, because it must be unbearable for all of them."

Jota, who won the Premier League title with the Reds last season before lifting the UEFA Nations League in June with Portugal, married long-term partner Rute Cardoso on June 22 at a ceremony attended by their three children.

The forward signed for Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020.
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