Liverpool star Diogo Jota mourned by family and locals at hometown wake in Portugal

GONDOMAR, Portugal: Hundreds of residents of Gondomar in northern Portugal filed past the bodies of former Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva at a chapel in their hometown on Friday (Jul 4), after their deaths in a car crash in Spain.

At an earlier private wake, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, FC Porto president Andre Villas-Boas, Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca and Jota's long-time agent Jorge Mendes joined grieving family members, including Jota's wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier.

"It is a moment of great pain for the family, who are left anchored to this tragic accident," Proenca said as he left the wake. "Diogo was an icon for the talent that Portuguese football represents and for its ability to generate unity around a person."

The brothers were believed to be driving to a ferry in Spain to travel to the UK when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst.

Silva was also a footballer with Penafiel in the Portuguese second division.

Their funeral is expected to take place on Saturday at a nearby church at 10am local time (0800 GMT), the office of Gondomar's mayor said.

The death of forward Jota at the age of 28 has jolted the world of football, with tributes pouring in from former teammates, clubs, national leaders and fans.

"Diogo was a silent hero for everything he represented on and off the pitch," Villas-Boas said as he left the wake.

"These are tragic days, days for reflection, and may the memory of these two athletes, these two great men, live on," the former Chelsea manager added.

Outside Liverpool's Anfield stadium, fans left flowers, scarves and handwritten notes, many from children.

"I never thought there would be something that would frighten me off going back to Liverpool after the (summer) break," Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah said on Instagram.

"Teammates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back," he added.

Football clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, who have several Portugal internationals in their squad, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid observed a moment of silence during training for their matches at the Club World Cup in the United States.

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