Cristiano Ronaldo explains why he did not attend Diogo Jota’s funeral, with the former Manchester United man making the decision not to attend along with his Portugal team-mates
Cristiano Ronaldo has defended his decision not to attend the funeral of former Liverpool and Portugal striker Diogo Jota, who died in a horrific car crash in July.
Jota, who was tragically killed along with her brother Andre Silva, was heading to the port city of Santander to catch a ferry back to the UK when her Lamborghini spun into flames near the Spanish town of Zamora due to a puncture.
Just two days after Jota and Silva were confirmed dead, their funerals were held in their hometown of Gondomar, Portugal, with several former team-mates in attendance. But one notable name was missing from it. In fact, Ronaldo decided not to play, despite playing with Jota for six years in the Portuguese national team.
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Ronaldo explained why he did not attend the funeral. In an interview with Piers Morgan, he said, “People have criticized me a lot, but I don’t care about it, because when you feel free, you don’t have to worry about what people will say.”
“But one thing I won’t do is I haven’t been to the cemetery since my father died.
“Secondly, as you know my reputation, it’s a circus wherever I go. The reason I didn’t go is because if I go, all the attention will be on me, and I don’t want to attract that kind of attention.”
“I’ve seen it and I’m not criticizing it. When it comes to sensitive times, he gets interviewed to talk about him and about football. Hey, hey, what is this…
“This shows how secret life is. I’m not part of it. If you want to be part of this world, good luck, but I’m going to be on the other side. People may continue to criticize me, but I felt good with my decision.”
Although Ronaldo did not attend Jota’s funeral, he paid tribute to the former Liverpool man and reflected on the moment he learned of his death.
“I was alone with Gio (Georgina Rodriguez),” said Ronaldo, 40. “I was taking a break at the gym this morning. I couldn’t believe it when they sent me the message. I cried a lot. Gio admits that.”
“It was a difficult moment for the country, for my family, for my friends and for my teammates. It was very sad news.”
Mr Jota had been advised not to fly after his lung surgery and had planned to return to the UK by boat with his brother. They planned to stop overnight in Benavente, then head to Santander and take the ferry back to Portsmouth.
He had been in his home country since coming on as a substitute in Portugal’s penalty shoot-out victory over Spain in the Nations League final on June 8. While there, he married his long-time partner and mother of his three children, Lute Cardoso, in Porto, just 11 days before his death.
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