Prince William has released a rare statement over the heartbreaking death of Liverpool star Diogo Jota.

The Prince of Wales revealed he was “deeply saddened” by the footballer’s tragic death at just 28 years old.

The royal sent his well wishes to the friends and family of the sports star as he took to social media to react to the news.

Prince William pays tribute to Diogo Jota

The 43-year-old took to X (Twitter) to pay tribute to the star, who died with his younger brother Andre after their Lamborghini crashed in northern Spain.

He signed the message with his initial, indicating it was a personal one from the royal himself.

Prince William, who is royal patron of the Football Association (FA), wrote: “As part of the footballing family, I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Diogo Jota and his brother.”

The football fan added: “Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who knew him @LFC @Wolves. W.”

The future king was named as patron of the FA in July 2024, after it was previously held by his grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth II. He was previously the President of the Football Association but stepped back from this role when he became patron. He was first appointed as President in 2005 and held the position for almost 20 years.

Football star’s tragic death

The Liverpool player and his brother crashed while they were driving through the continent, heading to catch an overnight ferry to the UK.

It’s believed a tyre of the car blew out while overtaking on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora, situated 10 miles from Portugal.

They were on the way to catch a ferry as Diogo was advised not to fly after lung surgery. The footballer was heading back to Britain to join the club’s pre-season training which begins on Monday.

Tragically, Diogo had married his childhood sweetheart and mother of his three children, Rute, just two weeks ago. They tied the knot in his home city of Porto on June 22. His brother Andre was just 26 years old.

Diogo’s final post on Instagram was a tribute of his wedding day, sharing footage of the nuptials where he called himself the luckiest man in the world.

Liverpool FC said in a statement they were “devastated” by the news. Tributes and flowers have been laid outside the stadium today.