On Thursday morning, the football world was rocked by the heartbreaking news that Jota, 28, and his younger brother André Silva, 26, had died in a car accident in Zamora, Spain. ..Continue Reading
It was later confirmed that the pair were driving back to the UK ahead of Liverpool’s pre-season training, when their Lamborghini suffered a tyre failure while overtaking another vehicle.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene, but sadly, both brothers were declared dead on-site.
Tributes have poured in from across the globe, including heartfelt messages from Cristiano Ronaldo, former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, and teammate Andrew Robertson.
Now, Jota’s respiratory physiotherapist, Miguel Goncalves, has spoken publicly about their final interaction just hours before the crash.
Goncalves had been working closely with Jota during his recovery from a pneumothorax—a partially collapsed lung—an injury the striker had bravely played through during Portugal’s Nations League campaign.
According to Goncalves, he last saw Jota and André around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening. The brothers had planned to drive overnight to avoid the heat, with a stopover in Burgos before catching a ferry from Santander to Plymouth.
Jota had been advised not to fly due to the risks associated with his recent surgery, prompting the road trip.
Goncalves emphasized that Jota was in excellent spirits, pain-free, and optimistic about the upcoming season. He had even decided to skip Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Japan to focus on his recovery.
Speaking to Portuguese outlet Record, Goncalves revealed: “I said goodbye to him and his brother, Andre, at around 8:30 p.m.
“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.
“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. They were only supposed to arrive in Santander today, catch the boat and then go to England.
“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.”
The physiotherapist also praised the Liverpool player for his professionalism, revealing details of his recovery while hitting back at media claims that he and his brother had been partying before the car crash.
“I’ve read some things on the internet that are regrettable, and I’ve even heard some in the media,” Goncalves added.
“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.
“He made an extraordinary recovery, he was undoubtedly an unparalleled professional. 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. When I left him yesterday he was no longer in pain and was going to return to Liverpool.
“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.”
