Portugal’s national team captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, was shaken by the news of teammate Diogo Jota’s death, saying in a social media post, “It doesn’t make sense.”

The 28-year-old Liverpool forward died following a car crash in Spain on Thursday, along with his brother, Andre Silva, 26, also a footballer.

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A Spanish police report said the incident occurred on the A-52 highway in the province of Zamora.

Jota and Ronaldo played together for the national team less than a month ago, as Portugal defeated Spain 5-3 on penalties to win the UEFA Nations League title for the second time. Jota came off the bench in that match during the second half of extra time.

The June 8 Nations League final in Munich, Germany, was the last time Jota played.

Later that month, he married his partner of 10 years, with whom he had three children.

“It doesn’t make sense. We were only just in the national team together, you had only just got married,” Ronaldo posted on the social media platform X.

“To your family, your wife and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you’ll always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. We’ll all miss you.”

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Jota made 49 appearances for Portugal and, along with Ronaldo, was a part of both their victorious UEFA Nations League squads in 2019 and 2025.

Jota made his international debut for Portugal on November 14, 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute for Ronaldo in a 6-0 win against Lithuania in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier.

“That moment… A moment you’ve always dreamed of … debut for @portugal ! Made better by the fact that it brought the best in history @cristiano [Ronaldo] 🙌🏻 Forever in the memory,” Jota said at that time on Instagram.

Speaking to ESPN UK earlier this year, Jota said his favourite memory of watching Ronaldo was his spectacular hat-trick against Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League semifinal in 2019.

“I was on the bench. It was a really, really good game. That was the moment I thought, ‘Yeah, I watched this for years when I was a kid, and now I’m watching here in this team,” he said.

The forward was also a key player for his club, Liverpool, helping them win the Premier League in the 2024-25 season, as well as the FA Cup and League Cup in 2021-22.

Jota scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the Merseyside club in all competitions since his arrival in 2020. Before joining Liverpool, he played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Atletico Madrid, and FC Porto.