Portuguese-born Everton stars Youssef Chermiti and Beto laid wreaths at Anfield on behalf of the club and paid their respects to Diogo Jota following his tragic death.
The Liverpool forward died on Thursday alongside his brother when his Lamborghini had a tyre blow out while overtaking another vehicle on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora – just ten miles over the border from Portugal.
The car is said to have rolled and burst into flames, with emergency services unable to save the footballing duo. Jota’s brother, Andre Silva, 26, played for Portuguese second division side Penafiel.
Jota and Silva were headed to Santander to catch a ferry to Britain after Diogo was advised not to fly following lung surgery, it was reported in his home country.
Jota’s untimely death sent shockwaves through the footballing world on Thursday. Throughout the day, back in Liverpool, fans gathered in their hundreds to lay and pay their own tributes to the 28-year-old.
This continued into Friday, as those associated with the club mourned for the father-of-three. That afternoon, the two Toffees stars, accompanied by former Toffees midfielder Ian Snodin, contributed to the Anfield tribute.
Portuguese-born Everton stars Youssef Chermiti (left) and Beto (right) laid wreaths at Anfield on behalf of the club and paid their respects to Diogo Jota
Jota’s untimely death sent shockwaves through the footballing world on Thursday. Throughout the day, back in Liverpool, fans gathered at Anfield
The pair both played in the Merseyside derby at the ground when Jota’s final ever goal handed Liverpool victory
Beto and Chermiti both played for the Toffees in April’s Merseyside derby which was decided by Jota’s final goal.
Earlier, former Reds skipper Jordan Henderson fought back tears as he laid flowers and a Liverpool scarf at Anfield in tribute of his ex-team-mate.
The England international, now playing for Dutch giants Ajax, left a heartfelt note to his former team-mate in the bouquet he brought to the site, which read: ‘Rest in peace my friend, along with your brother Andre. We will all miss you. Love Hendo + family.’
His death, which cast clouds of sorrow over the footballing world, came just two weeks after he married his girlfriend and mother of their three kids Rute Cardoso in Porto, his home city.
Current Reds skipper Virgil van Dijk promised to always be available for his family in a moving statement saying he was ‘absolutely devastated and in total disbelief’ to lose his team-mate of five years.
Elsewhere, Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, who forged an incredible connection with the forward during their five years together at Anfield and was also present at Jota’s wedding almost two weeks ago, wrote: ‘The ones I’m thinking about most right now are the family.
‘Their loss is too much to bear. I’m so sorry that they have lost two such precious souls – Diogo and Andre.
‘For the team and the Club, we’ll try to cope with this together… however long that takes. For me, I want to talk about my mate. My buddy. The bloke I loved and will miss like crazy.’
The Reds star and his brother Andre died on Thursday following a crash in northwestern Spain
Jota and his wide Rute Cardoso have three children, pictured on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League
Jota played 182 games for Liverpool and was part of the Premier League title-winning squad from last season under Arne Slot.
Doctors had reportedly advised Jota not to catch a plane after a recent operation, so he was getting a boat back to England instead. A Brittany Ferries service from Santander to Plymouth left at 4pm BST on Thursday, arriving in Devon at 11.15am on Friday.
According to Record, Jota and new wife Rute attended a friend’s wedding over the weekend and had been celebrating together.
The lamborghini crash happened on the A-52 in the province of Zamora. The Spanish dual carriageway is a key route taken by drivers after leaving northern Portugal as they head for the ports of Santander and Bilbao or drive north-east towards France.
Emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region confirmed the crash and two fatalities at around 12.35am on Thursday. Diogo and Andre’s deaths were then confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation at around 8am.
Wreckage at the scene suggested the brothers were driving to the UK in a Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder.
