It is a death, in Cristiano Ronaldo's words, that didn't make sense.

It was only this year that Diogo Jota won his first Premier League title with Liverpool. He then followed it up by helping Portugal win the UEFA Nations League.

A few days later, Jota walked down the aisle and said 'I do' to his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church in São Cosme.

But in the span of only 11 days, Cardoso would become widowed in the most heartbreaking circumstances possible.

Jota's teammates and friends showed up for the joint funeral of the departed brothers to support Cardoso, but at that point, there were no words anyone could say to make her feel better.

Dressed in all-white, Cardoso helped in carrying her husband's coffin, clinging to its underside as it made its way across the courtyard.

She occasionally rested her head on the coffin, drenched in tears as the sombre Ave Maria tunes echoed around.

Alexandra Quinta e Costa, who had sung at the couple's wedding just 11 days before his death, performed the Ave Maria.

Jota and Cardoso met while they were in high school in Gondomar, and it was a relationship that stood the test of time, even after Jota became a global star.

Andre Silva's wife, Maris Rodrigues, was also inconsolable as she followed her husband's body to the church.

Joaquin Silva, the grandfather of Jota and Silva, had to be supported as he made his way to the church behind his grandsons' coffins.

His son, the father of the footballers, consoled his wife Isabel Silva. Jota and Silva were the only children they had.

Liverpool's captain, Virgil Van Dijk, carried a flower wreath in the form of a football shirt with Jota's 20, while Andrew Robertson carried a similar one with Silva's 30.

Jota and his brother were buried at the São Cosme cemetery.

Among the pallbearers were Ruben Neves, who was Jota's best friend. Neves flew overnight from the United States, where he was playing in the FIFA Club World Cup, to arrive in time to send off a man he described as his 'favourite lemonade'.

"You'll still be next to me at the dinner table, on the bus, on the plane. You'll always be there with me, as always. Let's keep laughing, making plans, and sharing our lives with each other. I'm going to make sure you're always present, and I'll make sure that your loved ones never lack anything while you're there, far away, but thinking of us, waiting for us," he said on Instagram.

Apart from Van Dijk, Neves and Robertson, Jota's current and past teammates flocked to the city of Gondomar to bid farewell to Liverpool's number 20.

Bruno Fernandes, Nelson Semedo, João Cancelo, Joe Gomez, Cody Gakpo, João Felix, former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister were among the players present.

In a separate report, Cristiano Ronaldo's reason for skipping Jota's funeral was revealed.

Ronaldo was a conspicuous absentee at the funeral service of his teammate who perished in a car crash.

The Portuguese national football team captain had been expected to lead the country in paying their last respects to Jota.

Source: TUKO.co.ke