By Guy Birchall

Liverpool and Portugal soccer star Diogo Jota, 28, died in a car crash near Zamora in northwestern Spain, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said on Thursday.

His brother, Andre Silva, 26, a professional soccer player for Portuguese side Penafiel, also died in the crash.

The regional fire department of Castile and Leon said that a car crashed shortly after midnight on Thursday, with two men, aged 28 and 26, found dead at the scene.

The tragedy comes just two weeks after Jota married his girlfriend, Rute Cardoso.

Spanish police said they could not yet officially confirm the names of the deceased.

“The Portuguese Football Federation and all of Portuguese football are completely devastated by the death of Diogo Jota and André Silva, early this morning in Spain,” FPF President Pedro Proenca said in a statement.

Proenca described Jota as “much more than a fantastic player” calling the Liverpool forward  an“extraordinary person, respected by teammates and opponents alike, someone with a contagious joy and a role model in his community.”

“On my own behalf and on behalf of the Portuguese Football Federation, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo Jota and André Silva, as well as to Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs where the players were currently playing,” he said.

A minute’s silence will be held before all Thursday and Friday matches at the Women’s Euros in Switzerland, UEFA said in a statement.

Liverpool FC, which Jota helped become Premier League champions for the second time in the club’s history this season, said in a social media post that the club is devastated by the news.

In a statement on the Liverpool FC website, the club said it would be making no further comment, and requested privacy for the brothers’ friends and family, as well as for their teammates and club staff.

Flowers and football shirts bearing Jota’s name have already been laid by Liverpool supporters outside the club’s stadium, Anfield.

The captain of Portugal’s national team, Cristiano Ronaldo, paid tribute to Jota and his brother in a post on Instagram.

“It doesn’t make sense. We were just together with the national team, you had just gotten married,” he wrote. “To your family, your wife, and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and André. We will all miss you.”

The prime ministers of Portugal and the UK also expressed their sorrow.

“The news of the death of Diogo Jota, an athlete who greatly honored the name of Portugal, and his brother, is unexpected and tragic,” Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro wrote on X.

“I extend my deepest condolences to their family. It is a sad day for football and for national and international sports.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the news as devastating, telling a press conference in London: “I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say our first thoughts are going to be with his family and his friends in particular.”

Jota, who married his longtime girlfriend Rute Cardoso on June 22, leaves behind three children.

He joined Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020 and scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the club in all competitions.

The forward also made 49 appearances for the Portuguese national team and won the UEFA Nations League twice.