The life of Diogo Jota: Father, husband, Liverpool legend, and so much more
The news of Diogo Jota’s tragic death rocked the football world.
A Premier League champion and two-time Nations League winner, football has truly lost a great talent, but he was more than that.
He was a father, a loving husband and a son. Here, Sports News Blitz’s Vanely Barumire dives into the life of Diogo Jota.
Humble beginnings
Born Diogo Jota Teixeira da Silva, the late footballer was born in Porto to a crane operator and factory worker.
He played for his local team, Gondomar, between the ages of nine and 17, and the club was later named after him in 2022.
Jota started his professional career with Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreira in 2013 before signing for Atlético Madrid in 2016.
Despite being tied to an established Spanish team, the winger struggled to find his place in Madrid.
He spent much of his time on loan to different teams, most notably his year-long loan to Wolverhampton.
With the Wanderers, the Portuguese forward helped the team get promoted to the Premier League and reach their first FA Cup semi-final since the 1997/98 season, by scoring the winning goal against Manchester United.
After making an impression with the Wolves and leaving a mark in English football, Liverpool signed the Portuguese player in 2020 for £41 million.
During his five seasons with Liverpool, Jota played 182 games, scoring 65 goals.
The 28-year-old won the Premier League in the 2024/25 season, and has also won one FA Cup and two Carabao Cups with the Reds.
READ MORE: Tributes flood in for Liverpool forward Diogo Jota after tragic passing
A love story
On June 22nd 2025, 11 days before his death, the Liverpool striker tied the knot with his high school sweetheart, Rute Cardoso.
The pair had three children together - two boys (Dinis and Duarte) and a girl.
Relatively private people, Jota and Cardoso, have not publicly released the name of their daughter.
Another love of his was FIFA. An avid gamer, Jota was ranked world No.1 in FIFA 21’s Champions Leaderborad in February 2022 and owned an eSports team called Luna Galaxy.
‘We will always carry him with us in our hearts’
In a pre-season friendly against Preston, Liverpool players and fans paid tribute to the late Portuguese striker and his brother, Andre Silva.
Thousands of Liverpool fans travelled to Preston to watch their team kick off their preseason, but in reality, to pay tribute to the brothers.
Liverpool retired Jota’s number 20 shirt, making the announcement at 20:20 BST ahead of the friendly match.
The club has also confirmed that they will continue to pay Jota’s salary to his wife until the end of his contract.
Tributes have poured in from across the football world.
In all games on Matchday 1 of the 2025 Women’s Euro, including a match between Spain and Portugal, a minute of silence was held before kickoff.
Diogo Jota Teixeira da Silva was a great player, an avid gamer, a recent husband and a loving father, and he will be remembered by football fans forever.
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