Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers both paid tribute to their former player, Diogo Jota, who tragically passed away in July 2025 after a car crash, when the two met for their Premier League fixture on the weekend. The late forward’s wife, Rute Cardoso, has now spoken out.

Jota, who moved to Liverpool from Wolves in the summer of 2020, passed away alongside his brother, Andre Silva, while enjoying some downtime in the off-season. Just north of the Portuguese border in Zamora, Spain, Jota was travelling back to England when the crash occurred.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: In November 2020, Jota became the first player in Liverpool history to score in each of his first four top-flight home matches.

Since, the footballing world has combined forces to commemorate the talented Gondomar academy graduate, while the Merseysiders themselves retired the No.20 shirt in memory of the Portuguese. The tributes continued for Wolves’ Premier League trip to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

Jota’s Wife Speaks Out After Heartfelt Tributes During Liverpool vs Wolves

For the first game between Jota’s two English clubs since he passed in July, his two young sons (Dinis and Duarte) were mascots and there were two sets of applause for the Portugal international, who also turned out for the likes of Atletico Madrid and FC Porto during his career.

On the night before they met at Anfield, the Wolves players attended tributes to the late footballer outside Anfield, laying down floral tributes to the ex-Old Gold star, who scored 44 goals and notched a further 19 assists during his 131-match career at Molineux.

The travelling Wolves contingent also sang for their former talisman in the 18th minute, eliciting a warm applause from the Liverpool fans. The same happened when those in the home end acclaimed Jota in the 20th minute.

Jota’s wife, whom he married just a couple of weeks before he passed away, took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank both sets of supporters for their touching tributes. She wrote:

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the club and to all the fans for the love, respect and support shown during this incredibly difficult time. Your messages and gestures have meant more than words can express.”

After the ex-Reds ace proposed to his childhood sweetheart back in July 2022, Jota and Cardoso officially tied the knot on June 22, 2025, and she marked the one-month anniversary of their wedding but posting a carousel of their wedding day. “1 month [since we said], ‘Until death do us part’. Forever, [your] bride,” she wrote.

As alluded to, the pair had been together from a young age. Pictures of the pair date back to as early as 2013, while Jota was still playing in his homeland before his high-profile moves, and they share three children together: two sons and a daughter who was born in 2024.

Arne Slot Praises Liverpool and Wolves Fans for Diogo Jota Tributes

Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz, who notched his first Premier League goal for the Reds, scored within quick succession – the 41st and 42nd minute – to gain a lead over the English top flight’s basement club. Santiago Bueno pulled one back six minutes after the restart, but it turned out to be a consolation. “It was difficult but in a way also special and nice,” Slot said after the win.

“The football world again showed how to behave in moments like this. Our fans have been incredible since the tragedy happened. In every single moment they did what you hope they would do in memory of him. Today the away fans showed it is not only about our fans.

Kostas Tsimikas, Diogo Jota’s former Liverpool teammate, has paid tribute to the late Portuguese by getting a new, heartfelt tattoo.

“In the 18th minute the Wolves fans started singing for Diogo and ours were clapping, and in the 20th minute it was the other way around,” the Dutch tactician, 47, said before waxing lyrical about the actions of both fanbases. “You guys know how special English fans are and today showed the outside world that it is not only the players who make this league special.”