The grieving wife of Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota has arrived ahead of his funeral in Portugal later today.
Rute Cardoso, who married the 28-year-old footballer less than a month before his tragic death alongside his brother Andre Silva on Thursday, appeared outside the church on Saturday ahead of the ceremony at 10am.
The mother-of-three was seen hugging well wishers as she exited her car near the Chapel of the Resurrection, in Jota’s hometown of Gondomar, where the bodies of the brothers have been laid.
Several past and present players of the Premier League side touched down in the Portuguese town on Friday before visiting the chapel to pay their respects.
Players including Virgil Van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Federico Chiesa, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and manager Arne Slot were given a round of applause by local mourners as they passed through the streets to visit the chapel last night.
A handful of former Liverpool stars also made the trip, among them Brighton‘s James Milner and Ajax’s Jordan Henderson. The latter jetted to Portugal after paying a heartfelt tribute during a tearful return to Anfield earlier in the day.
Henderson was Jota’s captain when the Portuguese star arrived at the club in September 2020, the pair quickly developing a close friendship, and the England international was left in a state of disbelief by the news of his death.
The funeral service is expected to be held in private inside the local church – the Igrega Matriz de Gondomar, which is just a few metres from the chapel – and will only be attended by family and friends.
The grieving wife of Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota has arrived in his Portuguese hometown ahead of his funeral later today
The mother-of-three was seen hugging well wishers as she exited her car near the Chapel of the Resurrection
Former Portugal national team coach Fernando Santos (left) arrives at the Chapel of the Igrega Matriz de Gondomar on the day of the funeral ceremony of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva
Santos, who managed the Portuguese football team between 2014 and 2022, arrives at the Igrega Matriz de Gondomar on Saturday
Diogo Jota and Andre Silva’s grandfather arrives for the funeral of late Portugal’s players on Saturday
FC Porto’s Fabio Cardoso arrives for the funeral of late Portugal’s player Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, in Gondomar
A host of Premier League stars including Manchester City con Bernardo Silva, Manchester United’s Diogo Daloh and Bruno Fernandes and Nottingham Forest’s Jota Silva have also made the trip to Portugal ahead of the funeral today.
Mourners sobbed and carried roses and national team scarves in homage to Jota, who won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal less than a month ago, during a wake on Friday.
Aerial footage showed queues stretching from the small chapel, around the corner to the nearby church where his funeral will be held.
Jota’s heartbroken wife and parents gathered at the wake and held a vigil at the coffins of the former Wolves striker and his brother.
Rute Cardoso, who married the 28-year-old footballer on June 22, walked into the chapel in Gondomar after returning with her husband’s body from Spain on Thursday.
The city overlooking Porto is where the couple, who share three children, met and started dating as teenagers.
Diogo and Andre’s mother Isabel, father Joaquim and their grandfather were also emotional on arriving at the chapel.
Joaquim hugged several people and was supported by his brother and later raised a hand to mourners as he left with his wife. They returned around an hour later.
Liverpool teammates past and present flew to Portugal to pay their respects, including Virgil Van Dijk (left), Alexis Mac Allister (centre, with hands in pocket), Caoimhin Kelleher (third from right) and Andy Robertson (second from right)
Curtis Jones (left), Andy Robertson (second from left) and Jordan Henderson (right) are given a round of applause by locals as they passed through the streets of Gondomar to Jota’s wake
Current and former Liverpool players including Alexis Macallister (second from left), Jordan Henderson (centre) and Federico Chiesa (third from right) were also present
Liverpool star Darwin Nunez, a teammate of Diogo Jota, attends the wake with partner Lorena Manas
Manchester United and Portugal star Bruno Fernandes prepares to head into the chapel
Manchester City star Bernardo Silva (c), a fellow member of the Portuguese national team, arrives for Jota’s wake with wife Inês Tomaz (r)
Bernardo Silva (pictured) had previously paid his respects to his fallen teammate on social media, posting ‘Forever with us’ in Portuguese, followed by a heart emoji
Manchester City star also posted a photograph of him and Jota with their arm around each other
Portuguese football player and friend Jota Silva (c) who plays for the Premier League club Nottingham Forest, arrives with flowers at the chapel
Manchester United player and Jota’s Portugal teammate Diogo Dalot arrives at the wake looking pensive
Father-of-three Jota was killed in the early hours of Thursday morning along with his footballer brother Andre Silva, 25.
Their acid green 200mph £180,000 Lamborghini Huracan burst into flames after a suspected tyre blowout on the A-52 highway near Zamora in north-west Spain. No other vehicles were involved, police have said.
The brothers were on a road trip to the northern Spanish port city of Santander to catch a ferry to the UK after the Liverpool player and Portuguese international was advised not to travel by plane following lung surgery.
Jota and Andre’s funeral mass will take place in the neighbouring church at 10am today, with several current and former teammates of the two brothers set to attend.
