Almost a year after Diogo Jota tragically died in a car crash in July 2025, former teammate Ruben Neves has revealed that he still messages the late Liverpool icon in a WhatsApp group.
Ruben Neves talks about Diogo Jota (Image: FamaShow)
Ruben Neves has revealed he continues to send messages to Diogo Jota almost a year after the Liverpool icon’s shocking death. Jota tragically lost his life at the age of 28 on July 3, 2025, when his Lamborghini was involved in an accident in the Zamora province of Spain.
Reports at the time said Jota was traveling in a car with his brother Andre Silva when a tire went flat and the car went off the road. Both men have sadly passed away, leaving their families, teammates and the entire football world heartbroken.
A funeral was held in Jota and Silva’s hometown of Gondomar, Portugal, with several former colleagues in attendance to pay their respects. Almost a year on, Neves, who played alongside Jota for Porto, Wolves and Portugal between 2016 and 2020, has opened up about how he is dealing with his grief.
Speaking at SIC’s Alta Definição, the 29-year-old said: “I still talk to him. Very few people know about this.
“We had a WhatsApp group with Lute (Jota’s widow) and Diogo, which is still there and we continue to have conversations there. Whenever something special happens, I have archived the conversations on my WhatsApp so I can continue to message him.”
Neves also described the day after learning of Jota’s death as “the most difficult day” of her life. This comes after Jota’s widow Lute Cardoso marked their wedding anniversary last week by sharing the speech she gave on their wedding day.
The two married on June 22 last year, about a week before Jota’s death, and after more than 10 years of dating, they had three children together. And on their anniversary, Root posted Jota’s emotional speech on Instagram.
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The Reds icon said in the video: “Maybe there’s someone here who knows better than me where the future will take us. But the truth is, I don’t know and as long as I’m with you, it doesn’t really matter to me. I love you forever, my Branquinha.”
This is in memory of Portugal’s teammate who died at this summer’s North American World Cup, as the anniversary of his death approaches. Coach Roberto Martinez’s team wore commemorative wristbands at the tournament, with the names of all 26 players on them, along with Jota’s team.
The wristbands were graciously handed over to the Portuguese national team by the country’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro before the tournament. PSG midfielder Vicinha explained the heartbreaking gesture ahead of Portugal’s 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Basically, the story behind this wristband is that we went to see the Prime Minister and he provided us with this wristband. He confirmed that it is a wristband that we can wear on the pitch. It has all the players’ names and Diogo Jota’s special name on it, and it has all the details so that we can come onto the pitch wearing this.”
Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves were teammates (Image: Getty Images)
“He let us choose if we wanted to use it and how (to use it) during the day or during the game. We took it with a lot of love and decided to use it.”
Portugal, who defeated Uzbekistan 5-0 earlier this week, will now focus on their final Group K match against Colombia as they aim to advance to the knockout stages of world football’s highest competition.
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