Tears as Bodies of Diogo Jota, Brother Arrive in Portugal for Burial

The bodies of Portuguese football star Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, were received with grief and solemnity on Thursday night as mourning supporters lined the streets of Gondomar, northern Portugal, for their return home.

According to multiple reports, tearful mourners gathered outside the Capela de Ressurreição chapel, where the hearses carrying the brothers’ coffins arrived shortly after 11pm ahead of an early morning wake.

The brothers tragically lost their lives in the early hours of Thursday in a horrific car crash near Cernadilla, just across the Spanish border. Reports indicate that a tyre on Jota’s Lamborghini Huracán burst while overtaking another vehicle, causing the car to veer off the A-52 motorway. The supercar reportedly rolled multiple times before bursting into flames, killing both brothers instantly.

Spanish government official Ángel Blanco confirmed that the two men died at the scene before emergency services could arrive. The impact of the crash also sparked a fire in the nearby vegetation, prompting a rapid response from local firefighters. Authorities are still investigating and have yet to determine which of the brothers was behind the wheel.

Father José Macedo, the local parish priest, told CNN that a public wake would begin at 8am today at the chapel, followed by the funeral service scheduled for 10am on Saturday at the nearby Igreja Matriz.

“We’re here to celebrate their lives with everyone and to share in both the pain and the Christian hope,” Macedo said.

Earlier on Thursday afternoon, the bodies were seen being moved from a funeral home in Puebla de Sanabria, Spain, where they were initially taken after the accident. Football agent Jorge Mendes, a close friend of Jota, was also seen comforting the grieving family, escorting the late footballer’s mother into the facility.

“We lost two great people. Diogo was an example—as a person, husband, son, and professional. I still can’t believe it. It’s very difficult,” Mendes said, visibly emotional.

The bodies were later transported in a night-time procession to Gondomar, just 30 minutes from Jota’s hometown of Porto. The wake is taking place in the same city where, only two weeks earlier, 28-year-old Jota had married his longtime partner, Rute Cardoso, in an intimate ceremony attended by family and friends.

Local media report that the brothers had been driving toward Santander to catch a ferry to the UK, having opted against flying due to Jota’s recent recovery from lung surgery.

As Portugal continues to mourn, tributes have poured in from across the football world, with fans, clubs, and former teammates honouring the memory of a beloved player and his brother, both gone too soon.