A decisive, intelligent forward, a Premier League champion and a much-loved teammate whose death at 28 brought grief across Liverpool and the wider football world.
PositionForward
Liverpool career2020–2025
Record182 games · 65 goals
Life1996–2025
The player
A finisher for the biggest moments
Diogo José Teixeira da Silva arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2020. Comfortable across the front line, he combined sharp movement, pressing and unusual strength in the air with a striker’s instinct inside the penalty area. A Champions League hat-trick at Atalanta in November 2020 announced his quality.
His 182 Liverpool appearances brought 65 goals. Among the most remembered were the late winner against Tottenham Hotspur in April 2023 and his final goal, the winner in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on 2 April 2025. Injuries interrupted each of his five seasons, but his adaptability and directness made him important to both Jürgen Klopp and Arne Slot.
A champion in red
Jota helped Liverpool win the FA Cup and League Cup in 2021–22, another League Cup in 2023–24 and the Premier League in 2024–25. Weeks after that 20th league title, he won the 2025 UEFA Nations League with Portugal. He represented his country 49 times and scored 14 goals.
He joined Liverpool wearing No.20, and his last season ended with the club’s 20th league championship. The number is now permanently his.
3 July 2025
The accident and an unimaginable loss
What happened
Shortly after midnight on 3 July 2025, Jota and his younger brother, professional footballer André Silva, died when the car in which they were travelling left the A-52 motorway near Cernadilla in Spain’s Zamora province and caught fire. No other vehicle was involved. Jota was 28 and André was 25.
The Guardia Civil’s preliminary investigation said the evidence indicated Jota was driving and that excessive speed and a possible tyre failure were being examined. Contemporary accounts differed in how firmly they described the cause, so those findings should be understood as investigative conclusions rather than eyewitness certainty.
The tragedy came 11 days after Jota married his long-time partner, Rute Cardoso, on 22 June. He left behind his wife and their three children. Liverpool’s first statement asked for their privacy and promised full support to the family, friends, teammates and staff trying to absorb the loss.
Farewell in Gondomar
Family, friends, teammates and representatives of Liverpool and Portuguese football gathered in Gondomar, near Porto, for the wake and funeral. Liverpool players and staff joined Portugal internationals and figures from across the game in supporting the brothers’ family. The scenes reflected that the mourning was for two sons, brothers and footballers—not only for a famous player.
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan later remembered Jota as kind, thoughtful and attentive, and urged supporters to lean on one another through grief. The club centred the family in decisions about commemoration and offered wellbeing support across the organisation.
A city and a sport respond
Grief, solidarity and lasting remembrance
Anfield becomes a memorial
Thousands came to Anfield with flowers, scarves, cards, banners, artwork, shirts and messages. Liverpool supporters and fans of rival clubs stood together; players, staff and members of the brothers’ family visited. The spontaneous memorial became a place for collective mourning beyond matchday loyalties.
Tributes across football
Messages came from teammates, former players, clubs, governing bodies and supporters around the world. Moments of silence and musical tributes were held at matches, while Liverpool marked its return in pre-season. The club broadcast Remembering Diogo: Our Number 20, celebrating his football, humour and character.
Forever 20
After consulting Jota’s wife and family, Liverpool retired No.20 across the men’s, women’s and Academy teams—the first such honour in club history. A “Forever 20” emblem was added to shirts and stadium jackets for 2025–26. Flowers from Anfield were composted for club sites; other items were preserved for a permanent sculpture. Shirt-printing profits funded an LFC Foundation grassroots programme in his name.
Sources and further reading
This profile uses Liverpool FC’s official record and memorial announcements, alongside reporting of the Spanish authorities’ investigation. Sensitive details are limited to those needed for a clear historical account.