Where Diogo Jota's car crashed: The road described by locals...

By SOPHIA STANFORD

The road where Diogo Jota tragically crashed had previously been described as one of the worst in Spain.

The Liverpool star, 28, careered off a road in northern Spain in his Lamborghini - just two weeks after he married his childhood sweetheart.

The Portuguese forward was travelling in the supercar with his fellow footballer and younger brother Andre, 26, who also died in the crash.

The Lamborghini's tyre is believed to have blown out while overtaking on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora in northwestern Spain, close to the border with Portugal.

But the road is renowned for being an area of 'irresponsible driving', totting up nearly 15,000 speeding fines in 2020, it was reported in La Opinion de Zamora.

Four years ago, a campaign was launched to help control the speeding issue and bring awareness to the zones where people speed or there are frequent accidents.

With its sharp curves and frequent wildlife crossings, the A-52 is often cited as one of the worst to drive on.

A recent poll by Spain’s Organisation of Users and Consumers found that drivers believed the A-52 was one of the worst routes in all of Spain, highlighting the condition of the roads as well as the lack of safety barriers.

The remains of the Lamborghini that contained Diogo Jota and his brother Andre. Paramedics fought to save the men after the crash at around 12.35am today

The supercar crashed and caught fire, also igniting the surrounding vegetation

But the road where the Liverpool star crashed is renowned for being an area of 'irresponsible driving', totting up nearly 15,000 speeding fines in 2020

A recent poll found that drivers believed the A-52 was one of the worst routes in all of Spain, highlighting the condition of the roads as well as the lack of safety barriers

Diogo Jota had married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, in the last fortnight. Here they are pictured on their wedding day

The excessive amount of roadworks at the time was also a huge concern for the 1,259 drivers that were quizzed.

The region Zamora is also known for its rugged terrain with the A-52 running through mountainous and forested areas. The area also suffers from recurrent fog spells and limited lighting.

In spite of the tricky terrain, the Spanish road is a key route taken by drivers after leaving northern Portugal as they head for the ports of Santander and Bilbao or drive north-east towards France.

The footballer's supercar came off the road in the early hours of this morning, when it rolled and then burst into flames.

The emergency services were called but the brothers could not be saved.

Liverpool FC said in a statement that the club is 'devastated' by the tragedy and that Diogo's family, friends and fans had suffered an 'unimaginable loss'.

Jota had just married Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children and partner since the age of 16. He had described himself as the luckiest man in the world to be her husband, sharing moving footage of their wedding day in his final Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.

The couple married on June 22 in Porto, the footballer's home city. Rute shared more wedding day pictures in a social media post yesterday and said: 'My dream come true.' Jota replied in the comments: 'I'm the lucky one.'

The couple have three children, pictured on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League

Diogo's brother Andre, 26, was also a footballer and died in the crash

The happy couple with their children Denis, Duarte, and a daughter born in 2024, whose name has not been revealed

Diogo and Rute leave the church on June 22. They later said on social media that they had both said: 'Yes to forever.'

Diogo's new wife Rute shared more wedding day pictures in a social media post yesterday and said: 'My dream come true.' Jota replied in the comments: 'I'm the lucky one.'

Jota moved to Liverpool from Wolves

Flowers were laid outside Anfield shortly after Jota's death was revealed

Emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region confirmed the crash and two fatalities at around 12.35am on Thursday morning. Diogo and Andre's deaths were confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation.

Jota was part of Liverpool's Premier League-winning side in the 2024/25 campaign, scoring six goals in 26 appearances. He also played for Portugal's national team and helped it win the Nations League last month in an extraordinary win over rivals Spain on penalties.

Diogo was born Diogo Silva, but changed his surname to Jota to stand out because it is a common surname. His brother Andre kept the family name.

His younger brother played for Penafiel, in the second tier of Portuguese football.

The Portuguese national football team have said they are 'devastated' by the death of Liverpool forward Diogo, adding that he 'was not only a fantastic player with almost 50 caps for the national team, but also an extraordinary person who was respected by all his teammates and opponents'.

Liverpool posted on Instagram on Thursday morning: 'Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.

'The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.

'Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre's family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss.

'We will continue to provide them with our full support.'

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