Diogo Jota’s Portugal team-mates Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo were overcome with tears as they remembered their old friend on Friday night.
The duo were clearly moved as Al-Hilal and Fluminense paid a minute’s silence to Jota and his brother Andre Silva before their Club World Cup clash.
After the tribute, Neves had his face in his hands while Cancelo sank down on his haunches and wiped away tears.
Less than a month ago, Neves and Jota were part of the Portugal side which beat Spain in the Nations League final. The trio were also in the Portugal squad which won the 2018-19 Nations League.
The football world was plunged into mourning on Thursday when it emerged that Jota, 28, and Silva, 26 had died after the Lamborghini they were driving in careened off a road in northern Spain after a tyre blew out.
Hundreds of mourners gathered in Gondomar, Portugal on Friday where a wake and a vigil were held for the pair at the Sao Cosme Chapel.
Joao Cancelo was in tears after a minute’s silence in tribute to former team-mate Diogo Jota
Ruben Neves wiped away the tears after Al-Hilal and Fluminense paid tribute to Jota
Jota made 49 appearances for Portugal, winning two trophies, and played with the duo
Among the crowd were Bernando Silva, Diogo Dalot, Jota Silva, Liverpool’s chief executive of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes, Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, and his heartbroken family.
Meanwhile, over in Liverpool, fans and players turned up outside Anfield to lay flowers and scarves in memory of a recent title-winning hero who had spent five years at the club.
Over in Orlando, for Fluminense vs Al-Hilal, Neves and Cancelo weren’t the only stars fraught with emotion.
Former Chelsea star Thiago Silva also looked deeply contemplative as the minute’s silence went on.
Cancelo fought back the tears as an image of Jota and Silva were shown on the screen before eventually letting them flow.
The past couple of days have been, by all accounts, one of the darkest in football’s recent memory, and one which has transcended the game, bringing fans of all flags together.
Jota had been travelling to Santander to catch a ferry back to England ahead of pre-season, having been advised not to fly following lung surgery, when the accident occurred.
He and Silva were driving eastward along an isolated stretch of highway, about an hour west of Zamora, when tragedy struck.
Cancelo could be seen fighting back the tears as players gathered around the centre circle
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (left) and Kalidou Koulibaly (right) gave support to Neves in the minute
Jota and his wide Rute Cardoso have three children, pictured on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League
Manchester City star Bernardo Silva (c), a fellow member of the Portugal national team, arrives for Jota’s wake with wife Ines Tomaz (r)
Silva (pictured) had previously paid his respects to his fallen teammate on social media, posting ‘Forever with us’ in Portguese, followed by a heart emoji
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 team-mate Diogo Dalot arrives at the wake looking pensive
Liverpool’s Chief Executive of Football, Michael Edwards (left) and Sporting Director Richard Hughes (right) arrive into Portugal to attend the public wake
An aerial view shows the line of mourners snaking from the chapel to the church (top, middle of shot) where Jota’s funeral will be held on Saturday
Hundreds of mourners queue to pay their respects to Jota at the city centre chapel in the Portuguese city of Gondomar
A huge number of locals and travelling fans waited patiently to enter the chapel and say their farewells
Guests carry a wreath of flowers at a public wake held for Jota and his brother Andre Silva at the Capela da Ressurreicao on July 04, 2025 in Gondomar, Portugal
Mourners carried flags and football scarves bearing Diogo Jota’s face as they made the pilgrimage to the chapel
A fan wearing a Liverpool shirt holds up a a homemade message of condolence to the memory of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre
Mourners head out into the streets of Gondomar to pay their respects to the departed national team star
Their Lamborghini came off the road, rolled and then burst into flames at around 12.35am, also igniting the surrounding vegetation.
The emergency services were called but the brothers could not be saved.
Spanish government official Angel Blanco said the siblings died at the scene.
Doctors reportedly advised the Liverpool star not to catch a plane after a recent operation, so he was getting a boat instead.
A Brittany Ferries service from Santander to Plymouth left at 4pm on Thursday, arriving in Devon at 11.15am on Friday.
Just two weeks ago, he married his girlfriend and mother of their three kids Rute Cardoso in Porto, his home city.
She was in attendance at the chapel on Friday in Gondomar, a city overlooking Porto, where they met and started dating as teenagers.
It is believed the bodies of Diogo and Andre Silva are lying in the Chapel of Rest, which is behind the main church.
Ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson fights back tears as he pays his respects to Diogo Jota
He laid flowers and a Liverpool scarf in memory of his old team-mate who died on Thursday
Henderson was Jota’s captain at Liverpool for three seasons following his arrival from Wolves
The pair won two major trophies during the three years they spent together at Anfield
The Reds star and his brother Andre died on Thursday following a crash in northwestern Spain
Portuguese-born Everton stars Youssef Chermiti (left) and Beto (right) laid wreaths at Anfield on behalf of the club and paid their respects to Jota
Diogo and Andre’s mother Isabel, father Joaquim and their grandfather were 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.
Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro also attended the wake along with Diogo’s agent Jorge Mendes. The President of Portugal, Marcelo de Sousa, came later.
The mood outside Sao Cosme Chapel was one of respectful silence and contemplation today.
There was a major police presence and officers taped off roads and installed barriers near the church.
Even on the streets beyond, in the restaurants and cafes of the Porto suburb, the mood was subdued and silent.
A funeral mass will be taking place at 10am at Igrega Matriz de Gondomar on Saturday.
