Pro Soccer Player Diogo Jota Married the Love of His Life Weeks Before His Tragic Death
Diogo and his younger brother, Andres Silva, died in a car crash in July 2025.
Published July 3 2025, 10:25 a.m. ET
Professional soccer player Diogo Jota's life was tragically cut short in July 2025. On July 3, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) confirmed that the Portugal and Liverpool FC star died after he and his younger brother, fellow soccer star Andres Silva, were involved in a car crash. Diogo was just 28 years old at the time of his death.
Before he died, the athlete was on a high in his life. In addition to being one of the top players in his league, he had just become a married man. Here's what we know about Diogo's wife and the family he left behind.
Diogo Jota married his longtime partner two weeks before he died.
Diogo's wife was Rute Carduso. Rute and Diogo dated for multiple years before they officially got married on June 22, 2025, two weeks before he died. In the athlete's final Instagram posts, he and his wife reflected on their wedding ceremony.
"June 22, 2025," Rute wrote under a June 28 carousel post of their nuptials. "Yes to Forever."
Diogo created another post from their wedding day the day before his fatal accident. The post was a video of moments from the couple's wedding day, including stunning views of the church they married in and closeups of them exchanging their vows.
"A day we will never forget," Diogo captioned the post.
Following the news of his death, many Instagram commenters expressed their condolences to Rute underneath his final post.
"Life can be so cruel…" one user wrote.
"Can't believe this post was not even a day old, and what happened in like 20 odd hours. Life's really unpredictable," another shared.
"Rest in peace brother, condolences to your wife & family," a third commenter expressed.
Diogo Jota and his wife had three children.
In addition to his wife, Diogo's surviving family members include the couple's three children. Their first child, Dinis, was born in 2021, followed by their second child, who was born in 2023. The couple welcomed their youngest child in November 2024, eight months before Diogo died.
"26/11/2024," they wrote underneath a shared post of their baby girl.
Diogo and Rute's children were all in attendance during their June 2025 wedding. Sadly, soon after, CNN and other outlets reported that he and his brother crashed his car near Cernadilla, Zamora, in northwestern Spain. Spain’s Guardia Civil confirmed in a statement that the cause of the accident could've been "due to a burst tire while overtaking.” As a result, the car, which was a Lamborghini, reportedly caught on fire.
Following the news of Diogo's death, The Portuguese Football Federation released a statement sending their condolences to both him and Andres, who played for Penafiel in the second tier of Portuguese soccer. The corporation also highlighted Diogo's personality in addition to his love for the game.
"Much more than a fantastic player with nearly 50 caps for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by colleagues and adversaries, someone with a contagious joy and a reference in his own community," the federation wrote.
Diogo's wife and family didn't immediately address his death.