José Pedro Aguiar-Branco spoke to journalists in Bern, Switzerland, before attending the match between Portugal and Spain at the European Women’s Football Championship.
“This is a very sad day for national and international sports. We learned with great consternation about the passing of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva,” said the president of the parliament, lamenting the “brutal” road accident in Spain that “claimed the lives of promising young people.”
Aguiar-Branco noted that, as a footballer, Diogo Jota “always represented the Portuguese national team with great pride, immense talent, and hard work, serving as an example for many young people by the way he practiced his profession.”
“I also want to announce that on Friday in parliament, I will present a motion of condolence to honor the memory of these two young men and also the legacy they leave to national sports,” he declared.
Earlier in the morning, the president of the Assembly of the Republic expressed deep sorrow over the death of the Portuguese international footballer Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, considering it a significant loss for national football.
This message from José Pedro Aguiar-Branco was published on the official account of the Assembly of the Republic on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota, aged 28, and his brother André Silva, 25, died early this morning in a traffic accident on the A52 in Cernadilla, Zamora, Spain.
Diogo Jota was a player for Liverpool, where he spent five seasons, winning an English league, an FA Cup, and two League Cups.
In the Portuguese national team, Diogo Jota earned 49 caps and won two Nations Leagues.
After training at Gondomar and Paços de Ferreira, the forward played one season with FC Porto, on loan from Atlético de Madrid, before moving to Wolverhampton, where he spent three seasons.
