Liverpool’s Portuguese forward Diogo Jota, 28, died in a fiery car crash near Zamora in northwestern Spain with his brother, Spanish state-owned TV station said on Thursday, citing local firefighters.

The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed to The Associated Press that Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, 25, were found dead after their car went off the road. Police were investigating the causes. They said there were no other vehicles involved.

“Everything points to the blowout of a tyre while it (the vehicle) was overtaking,” the civil guard said in a statement, adding that the corpses had been taken to a morgue.

The regional fire department of Castile-Leon, where Zamora is located, said on its website a car crashed shortly after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames, with two men found dead.

Jota helped Liverpool win the Premier League last season and also won the FA Cup and League Cup with the Merseyside outfit.

Portuguese football federation president Pedro Proenca wrote on social media that he was “devastated”, calling Jota “an extraordinary person, respected by all his colleagues and opponents, someone blessed with an infectious joy and a reference for his own community”.

“We have lost two champions. The deaths of Diogo and Andre Silva are irreparable losses for Portuguese football, and we will do everything possible to honour their legacy every day,” Proenca added.

He said they had asked UEFA for a minute’s silence before Portugal’s Women’s Euro 2025 match against Spain in Switzerland on Thursday.

Liverpool said it was “devastated” by the “unimaginable loss” and that it would make no further comment for the privacy of the brothers’ family, friends, teammates and club staff.

“We will continue to provide them with our full support,” Liverpool added in a statement.

Liverpool fans had already begun laying flowers, scarves and other tributes at the club’s Anfield stadium, British media reported.