Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP
Rute Cardoso, the widow of late Liverpool Football Club and Portugal national team striker Diogo Jota, has revealed the heartbreaking final text she sent to her late husband before he tragically passed. Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva died on July 3, 2025 when the Lamborghini they were traveling in crashed on the A-52 motorway in northern Spain.
Cardoso — who married Diogo Jota on June 22, just 11 days before his death — reveals in an upcoming biography that her final text message to her husband was one he never received.
Diogo Jota’s widow Rute Cardoso has revealed the final text message she sent to him before he tragically died in a car crash
According to the widow, she texted her new husband wanting to tell him that she’d received their wedding video, writing: “Love, when you stop, call me, because I have something here to show you.” Cardoso’s text was never answered.
Cardoso’s authorized biography, titled Nunca Mais e Muito Tempo — which translates to Never Again Is a Long Time — was written in tandem with former footballer José Manuel Delgado and will be released in their native Portugal on Thursday, April 9.
The book reportedly features 90 testimonies, including conversations with current LFC manager Arne Slot, iconic former boss Jurgen Klopp, club captain Virgil van Dijk, Portugal teammates Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, and more.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva passed on July 3, 2025, when they crashed on a highway in northern Spain, with authorities saying that the Lamborghini suffered a tire blowout while attempting to overtake another car, causing the vehicle to leave the motorway and become engulfed in flames. Reports also indicate the road was in poor condition.
The reason that Jota was even driving that day is tragic in and of itself, as he had been advised not to fly due to lung surgery and was driving to Santander to board a ferry back to England for preseason training.
Just a month prior, not only did Jota marry his childhood sweetheart Rute, but he also helped Liverpool win the Premier League title and scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win over city rivals Everton, his final ever goal.