Diogo Jota was driving to catch ferry back to UK after being advised to avoid flying

Liverpool FC forward lost his life aged 28 this week

News of the 28-year-old's tragic passing spread through the sporting world and beyond yesterday morning (July 3), just 10 days after he married the mother of his three children Rute Cardoso.

Jota's younger Andre Silva was also killed in the car crash.

"I said goodbye to him and his brother, Andre, at around 8:30 p.m," said Goncalves. "His brother was a great companion and decided to go with him, to accompany him on the trip, and that way they would also spend more time together.

"They were going to travel at night because it was cooler, but they weren't going direct. He told me that the journey would take about eight hours, but that they would stop at a hotel in the Burgos area to rest. Diogo was very aware of his professionalism. They were only supposed to arrive in Santander today, catch the boat and then go to England."

He continued: "The family would arrive later by plane, organise their lives over the weekend and then, on Monday, they had a medical appointment scheduled in Liverpool to assess the situation.

"I've read some things on the internet that are regrettable, and I've even heard some in the media. To be clear, Diogo and Andre weren't partying at all, they weren't in the so-called 'good mood' life, they had nothing that deserved any repair. Nothing."

Following their title-winning season across 2024/25, the red half of Merseyside's first team squad were due to return to training next week ahead of a friendly against Preston North End.

Goncalves went on to mention how "unparalleled professional" Jota had made an "extraordinary recovery" post-surgery.

"He strictly followed what I told him, as you could see in the way he was recovering. The base of his right lung had collapsed a little, but with the post-surgery physiotherapy he was practically flawless," he added.

"He was excited, confident in his recovery and enthusiastic about the next season. He told me that he would not go on the pre-season tour that Liverpool is going to Japan to strengthen his recovery, he believed he was going to have a great season."