(foto: Official TW/IG/FB account)
Ruben Neves, Jota’s closest friend in football, has shared a deeply emotional message after the Liverpool striker’s tragic death, promising to honor his memory forever.
The football world is still in mourning after the sudden death of Diogo Jota, the beloved Liverpool and Portugal forward who tragically lost his life in a car crash alongside his brother Andre Silva last Thursday morning.
The brothers were driving through northern Spain in a Lamborghini Urus SUV, en route to catch a night ferry to the United Kingdom. The accident occurred on the A-52 motorway near Cernadilla, just 16 kilometres from the Portuguese border, after a tyre reportedly burst during an overtaking maneuver. The vehicle veered off the road and burst into flames. Neither brother survived.
Since then, countless tributes have poured in for Jota from across the football world. But one voice that had remained silent—until now—was Ruben Neves, Jota’s closest friend in football.
On Sunday night, Neves, who currently plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, finally found the strength to say goodbye. What he shared was a heartbreaking and deeply personal message to the friend he considered family.
"Wherever you are, I know you’ll read this. You know you meant as much to me as I did to you. We’re more than friends—we’re family. And that won’t change, just because you’ve decided to sign a contract a little farther from us now," Neves wrote.
"When I go to national team camp, you’ll still be with me—at the table, on the bus, on the plane. I’ll make sure your loved ones never go without, because you’re here, far from us, but thinking of us and waiting for us. Life brought us together, and now nothing can separate us. From now on, you’ll always walk onto the pitch with me. We’ll keep walking this road where we first met. I love you."
Neves and Jota’s careers were intertwined for nearly a decade. They both debuted for Portugal’s U21 team in 2015 at the age of 19 and later played together at FC Porto. In 2017, they both made the move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, becoming fan favourites and key figures in Wolves’ rise. Their paths diverged in 2020 when Jota transferred to Liverpool, but they reunited each year in the senior Portuguese national team.
Jota’s passing has left a hole not only in football but in the hearts of those closest to him. For Ruben Neves, it was more than just a teammate lost—it was the loss of a brother.