Prince William issues statement following death of footballer Diogo Jota just days after his wedding

Prince William has said he is 'deeply saddened' by the tragic death of Liverpool football player Diogo Jota, who died in the early hours of this morning in a car crash.

The Portuguese athlete was just 28-years-old when the car he was driving at around 1:30am on the A-52, near Cernadilla (Zamora) in Spain, veered off the road before crashing into an embankment and catching fire.

His 26-year-old brother Andre Silva was also inside the vehicle, losing his life after the car was immediately engulfed in flames following a suspected tyre blowout.

Though witnesses - who spotted the fire in the middle of the night - immediately alerted the local authorities, the Spanish emergency services were unable to save the pair.

Prince William, the President of the FA and a long-time football fan, has since penned a statement online.

Taking to X, the future King wrote: "As part of the footballing family, I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Diogo Jota and his brother. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who knew him @LFC @Wolves. W."

The incident comes just 11 days after Jota wed his long-term girlfriend Rute Cardoso.

The couple married in Porto, Portugal on 22 June in the company of their three children - two sons, Denis, born in 2021, and Duarte, born in 2023, and a baby girl whose name is yet to be revealed.

Hours before Jota's death, the mother-of-three shared a gut-wrenching video from their wedding, captioned: "A day we will never forgot."

The video showed the couple in black and white shots posing beside one another following the ceremony. Their children also feature in the gut-wrenching clip.

Rute is yet to speak out on her loss.

The Portuguese Football Federation was amongst the first to issue tributes to the much-loved sportsman, claimed its members are 'devastated' by the pair's passing. "Their deaths represent irreparable losses for Portuguese football," an official statement continued.

A spokesperson for Portugal's national team also told press in a statement: "Diogo Jota 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.

"He had a contagious joy and was a reference point in his own community."

As well as playing for his home-country's national team, Jota has played for Premier League-winning side Liverpool since 2020, following his departure from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As part of the Merseyside team, he established himself as a attacker under both Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot, and was vital in securing Liverpool the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup throughout his five-year spell at Anfield.