‘Keep your eyes on the road’: Diogo Jota’s new wife’s text message to husband revealed in her heartbreaking account of how tragic Liverpool star’s Lamborghini crash death unfolded

Diogo Jota’s widow Rute Cardoso has revealed she told him ‘keep your eyes on the road’ in her final message to the Liverpool star, as she gave a heartbreaking account of the night of his death in a new book.

In a biography about the late Liverpool forward, Cardoso explained she had exchanged messages with Jota shortly after he had left for the Spanish city Santander with his brother Andre Silva.

Jota had planned to travel to the city to drop off a Lamborghini he had rented shortly after the couple’s wedding, before taking a ferry back to the UK for pre-season.

Cardoso revealed she had told Jota ‘keep your eyes on the road’ after he had responded to her message following his departure.

‘It was a surprise,’ Cardoso said in an extract of the book Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts, shared by the Liverpool Echo, regarding his decision to rent a Ferrari then a Lamborghini in the summer of 2025.

‘Unlike most players, who like fancy cars, jewellery and watches, Diogo was never into that sort of thing. He was happy with the cars we had.

‘So perhaps because he’d never been particularly into cars, he took that chance to try driving a Ferrari before our wedding. After that, he would also rent a Lamborghini, which he had to drop off in Santander.

‘A few minutes after they’d left, I sent Diogo a message saying, “Safe journey”. He replied with an emoji, and I told him to keep his eyes on the road.’

Jota and his younger brother died when the Lamborghini Huracan he was driving careered off a motorway in northern Spain.

Jota, 28, a father-of-three, was travelling back to Liverpool by road after he was advised by doctors not to fly following surgery, and crashed close to Spain’s north-west border with Portugal. 

He married his childhood sweetheart Cardoso at a church in Porto, Portugal, just 11 days before the devastating collision.

Cardoso explained how she had grown increasingly worried after several WhatsApp messages to Jota were left undelivered.

The first of which was Cardoso informing Jota she had a video to show him, having just received footage from their wedding day.  

A subsequent message was also undelivered when she attempted to contact Andre.

She then rang the hotel the brothers had been due to stay at in Benavente to break up their journey. After being informed they had not arrived, Cardoso said she then phoned a hospital and the local police without success.

Cardoso then contacted her uncle Vitor, a lorry driver with good contacts in the Spanish transport police.

‘Suddenly, my uncle asked me to put Nuno, my brother-in-law, on the line. At that time of night, in the silence, I could make out every word they were saying. I heard my uncle tell him: “The bodies are being taken away”. I think he added “to the mortuary”, but that’s when my mind went blank,’ Cardoso said in the book extract.

‘Bodies? My brother-in-law froze. My sister took the phone from him and asked my uncle to speak to her. My main concern was to ring Diogo’s father and tell him: “You must come here immediately”. I rang André’s girlfriend and said the same thing: “Paula, come over now”.’

Cardoso revealed in the biography, written by former footballer Jose Manuel Delgado, that the family was visited by two psychologists to offer support.

Her uncle called again and passed Cardoso onto a Spanish police officer, who officially informed her of Jota’s death.

Cardoso added in the family-authorised biography, which will support the LFC Foundation, that she requested to visit the scene of the accident when en route to mortuary to collect Jota and his brother’s belongings.

‘I told the driver I wanted us to take the same route that they had taken,’ Cardoso said. ‘I imagined that, so many hours on, there would be no traces left, but I wanted to know where it had happened. But when we reached that cursed Kilometre 64, what was left of the car was still there.’

Cardoso had attempted to move closer to the scene of the accident but was stopped by a police officer. 

A funeral was held for both Jota and Silva two days after their devastating deaths in a chapel in Gondomar, a city that overlooks Porto, where both brothers played during their academy careers.

Following an investigation, a Spanish court ruled earlier this year that the crash was due to the Lamborghini suffering a blown-out tyre while overtaking a car, before bursting into flames upon hitting a barrier in the middle of the carriageway.

The High Court of Justice in the province of Zamora, north-west Spain, has concluded that no criminal action was necessary regarding the deaths of both Jota and Andre, following the review of the entire evidence.

Jota turned out 123 times for Liverpool, scoring 47 goals, and played a significant role in their 2024-25 Premier League title-winning season.

Former Liverpool bosses Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp are among those to have contributed to the biography, along with former team-mates. 

‘This book began as an opportunity to help preserve Diogo’s memory at a moment of profound sadness. My commitment throughout was to tell his story with care, honesty and respect for Diogo, André, and the family and friends who loved them,’ said author Delgado.

‘What moved me most was the generosity of those closest to them. Family members, teammates, coaches and friends shared their memories to help future generations understand the person Diogo was, and their love for both brothers can be felt on every page.

‘While researching the book, I came to understand the unique bond between Diogo and Liverpool FC. Everywhere I went, people spoke not only of his talent, but also his humility, commitment and character.

‘My hope is that Forever in our Hearts serves as a fitting tribute to Diogo’s life and legacy, and ensures his story continues to inspire others for years to come.’

The Anfield faithful continuously paid their respects to Jota last season, singing his name in the 20th minute of every match, while the club also retired his No20 shirt. 

A permanent memorial to Jota and Andre was installed at Anfield in July.