Diogo Jota’s family and former Liverpool teammates gathered in Gondomar, Portugal on Saturday for the funeral of the late soccer star and his brother, André Silva.
Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother – who was also a professional footballer – died in a car crash in Spain early on Thursday morning, plunging the soccer world into mourning.
Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, with whom he shares three young children and who he married less than two weeks before the crash, was pictured embracing other mourners as she arrived at the church ahead of the service, which lasted about an hour on Saturday morning.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and left back Andy Robertson led the tributes from Jota’s former club, carrying bunches of red flowers in the shape of the two brothers’ jerseys.
They were accompanied by other members of the team, including Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Núñez and Ibrahima Konaté. The team’s manager, Arne Slot, along with CEO Michael Edwards, was also present.
Later, bells rang out at the church as a long line of mourners accompanied the brothers’ coffins inside. Portugal star Rúben Neves, Jota’s former teammate with the national team and with Wolverhampton Wanderers, was among the pallbearers. Another person walked in front of the coffins, carrying a black-and-white photo of Silva that read “Para Sempre Um De Nos” – “Forever One Of Us.”
Figures from Portugal’s national soccer team, including its head coach Roberto Martínez, Manchester City stars Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes and Chelsea forward João Félix were also in Gondomar, near Porto, on Saturday morning.
“Today was a day that we showed that we are a very, very large but close family,” Martínez told reporters outside the church. “We are Portugal … we are together and we will always be together.”
The bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, delivered an emotional homily addressed to the brothers’ parents as well as Jota’s wife and their three young children, saying “solidarity in love is always stronger than death,” per Reuters.
The funeral on Saturday comes after a wake for the brothers’ family was held on Friday morning at a church in their hometown of Gondomar, the church told CNN. It added that the doors at the Igreja Martiz de Gondomar were open to the public on Friday afternoon.
Friday also saw tributes continue to pour in from around the world. In the Club World Cup, moments of silence were held before the games, with Al-Hilal duo Neves and João Cancelo, as well as Chelsea winger Pedro Neto – all former teammates of Jota’s with the Portugal national team – all looking visibly emotional.
British rock band Oasis also honored Jota, dedicating their song “Live Forever” to the 28-year-old during their reunion concert in Cardiff, Wales.
In London, Portuguese tennis players Francisco Cabral and Nuno Borges, who were competing at Wimbledon, were given permission by organizers to stray from the tournament’s strict all-white dress code to honor Jota, they told reporters, including CNN, on Friday.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Duarte Mendonca and Ben Church contributed to reporting.
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