Former Liverpool and Portugal star Diogo Jota’s widow, Rute Cardoso, took to social media platform Instagram to send a heartwarming birthday wish to their youngest child on Thursday.
Cardoso shared multiple images of the child along with her late husband and two sons, Dinis and Duarte, with a caption that read, ‘A whole year’.
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Jota wed his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children, just weeks before his untimely death.
Jota tragically died in a car accident in Zamora, Spain, on July 3, 2025, at the age of 28, which also claimed the life of his brother, Andre Silva. His passing overshadowed Liverpool’s title celebrations from the previous season.
He married Rute Cardoso
on June 22, shortly before his tragic demise. The couple shared three children.
Beginning his youth career at Gondomar in 2005, Jota moved to Paços de Ferreira, where he made his senior debut in 2014. In 2016, he joined Atletico Madrid but was immediately loaned to Porto for a season and then to Wolves in 2017. His impressive performance at Wolves led to a permanent move to Molineux.
Jota’s remarkable achievements at Wolves, including aiding the team’s EFL Championship title victory, earned him a transfer to Liverpool in 2020.
At Liverpool, Jota secured the Premier League title, the FA Cup in the 2021-22 season, and the EFL League Cup. He was also part of the Portuguese team that won the UEFA Nations League in both the 2018/19 and 2024/25 seasons.
Born Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva, he adopted the surname ‘Jota’ to distinguish himself from teammates with similar names in the youth academy. An avid gamer, Jota established his own eSports team, Diogo Jota eSports, later renamed Luna Galaxy, and topped the FIFA 21 Championship table in February of that year.
A versatile player capable of playing various roles along the front line, Jota clinched the Premier League title with Liverpool a month before his death and added his second UEFA Nations League title to his achievements.
