Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota has sadly died in a car crash in northern Spain at the age of 28. The accident happened just two weeks after he married his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, who is also the mother of his three children.

Jota was travelling with his younger brother, André, who is 26 and also a footballer. It is feared that he also died in the crash.

Only yesterday, Jota had spoken in an interview where he said he felt like the luckiest man in the world after marrying Rute in a beautiful ceremony held in Porto.

The crash happened on the A-52 motorway in the province of Zamora, a busy road often used by drivers leaving northern Portugal, per UK News outlet the Daily Mail. Emergency services in the Castilla y León region confirmed the terrible incident.

A statement from the emergency service read:

The 1-1-2 operations room in Castilla y León received several calls about an accident at kilometre 65 of the A-52, near the town of Cernadilla. The car was reported to be on fire.

They added that the traffic police, fire brigade and medical teams were sent to the scene.

A medical emergency unit and local doctors from Mombuey Health Centre arrived and confirmed that two people had died at the scene.

Jota’s death has shocked the football world, with fans and fellow players mourning the loss of a talented and much-loved player. His passing is made even more heartbreaking by the timing, just days after starting a new chapter of life with his wife and children.