Diogo Jota

Paços de Ferreira

Jota was born on 4 December 1996 in the parish of Massarelos, Porto, Portugal, and grew up in Gondomar, also in the Porto metropolitan area. He played for local club Gondomar S.C. between the ages of 9 and 17, and in 2022, the academy was named after him. Having been rejected by larger clubs due to his small frame, Jota signed for Paços de Ferreira's youth setup in 2013. He was promoted to the main squad at the start of the 2014–15 season, and made his senior debut on 19 October 2014 by starting in a 4–0 home win against Atlético de Reguengos for the Taça de Portugal. During the season, he had a one-month absence from training after he was diagnosed with a heart condition. Jota first appeared in the Primeira Liga on 20 February 2015, coming on as a late substitute for Diogo Rosado in a 2–2 home draw against Vitória de Guimarães. He scored his first goals in the competition on 17 May, netting a brace in a 3–2 home success over Académica de Coimbra and becoming the youngest player ever to score for the club in the top tier in the process. On 30 May 2015, Jota signed a new five-year deal with Paços, keeping him tied up until 2020. In the first game of the campaign, a 1–0 win over Académica at the Estádio da Mata Real on 17 August, he was sent off at the end for pushing Hugo Seco; Ricardo Nascimento was also sent off for retaliating on his teammate's behalf. During the season, manager Jorge Simão said that Jota would be the successor to Cristiano…

Youth

Jota started playing for Portugal at under-19 level, scoring his first goal on 29 May 2015 in a 6–1 home win over Turkey in 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification. He won his first cap for the under-21 team on 17 November of the same year at not yet 19, playing 15 minutes in the 3–0 away defeat of Israel in another qualifier. On 25 May 2018, he netted a brace for the under-21s in their 3–2 friendly win over Italy held in Estoril.

Senior

In March 2019, Jota was called up to the senior side for the first time, ahead of the opening UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Ukraine and Serbia. Still uncapped, he was part of the squad that won the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals on home soil in June but did not make an appearance. On 14 November, he made his debut by coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Cristiano Ronaldo in a 6–0 win against Lithuania in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier. He scored his first international goal on 5 September 2020 in a 4–1 home win over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League. Jota was named in Portugal's final squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, scoring in a 4–2 group stage defeat to Germany. He played all games in a round of 16-exit defeat to Belgium. On 18 October 2022, Jota was ruled out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to a calf injury he sustained during a league match with Liverpool against Manchester City on 16 October 2022. On 11 September 2023, Jota scored a brace in Portugal's 9–0 home…

Jota was a versatile forward, capable of playing in several attacking positions; he was deployed as a centre forward, as an out-and-out striker, as a winger, as a false 9, or as an inside forward. Though ostensibly right-footed, he was very strong with both feet. Jota was also known for his clinical finishing, explosive pace, dribbling ability, positional sense, movement and close control which made him especially effective on the counter-attack. Moreover, he was also known for his defensive contribution and high work rate on the pitch.

Jota, whose actual surname was Silva, chose to use the name "Jota" to distinguish himself from other players named Diogo and Silva in the youth academy. "Jota" is the Portuguese pronunciation of the letter "J", making this equivalent to calling himself "Diogo J". Jota's brother, André Silva, was also a professional footballer. Like his brother, André started playing football at Gondomar and played for Paços de Ferreira at youth level. When Jota joined Porto on loan in 2016, André was in the club's youth ranks. André was playing for Liga Portugal 2 side Penafiel at the time of their deaths. Jota was an avid gamer and was ranked world No. 1 in FIFA 21's Champions Leaderboard in February 2021. He had his own eSports team known as Luna Galaxy (formerly "Diogo Jota eSports") and regularly streamed on Twitch. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown he took part in an invitational series of FIFA matches, run by the Premier League, eventually defeating future Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final of the competition. On the first anniversary of the Jota's passing, EA Sport announced the Pro Championship Trophy would be renamed in his honour. Jota married Rute Cardoso on 22 June 2025, 11 days before his death. The couple had three children.