Diogo Jota was more than likely behind the wheel of the Lamborghini before the fatal crash that killed him and his brother Andre Silva, and evidence points towards the vehicle travelling over the speed limit at the time of the incident, Spanish Police have said.

The former Liverpool and Portugal attacker was travelling to catch a ferry back to England in the early hours of Thursday morning when his car suffered a reported tyre blowout when overtaking another vehicle.

Jota's Lamborghini veered off the motorway in northern Spain, crashed and burst into flames, claiming the lives of him and his brother and sparking a wave of emotional tributes from both inside and outside the footballing world.

Funerals were held for the two professional footballers on Saturday in their hometown of Gondomar, where Arne Slot and his Liverpool squad were among those to pay their respects to the late duo, alongside Jota's former Wolves teammates Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho.

The authorities have continued to investigate the crash site and wreckage while tributes have been flooding in, and the Civil Guard in Zamora - where the accident occurred - have now released a new statement.

"All the evidence" suggests Jota was driving at time of death

"The expert report is still being worked on and finalised," local police said. "Among other things traffic police from the Zamora branch of the Civil Guard are studying the tread marked by one of the wheels of the vehicle.

"Everything is also pointing to a possible high excess of speed over the permitted speed on that stretch of the motorway.

"All the evidence so far indicates that the driver of the crashed vehicle was Diogo Jota. The expert report is not yet complete, but as it is subject to judicial review, it will be submitted to the Puebla de Sanabria court."

Jota left behind his wife Rute Cardoso - whom he had married less than two weeks before his death - and three young children from his relationship with his childhood sweetheart.

The late 28-year-old scored 65 goals in 182 games for Liverpool and also won 49 caps for the Portugal national team, whom he made his last professional appearance for in their UEFA Nations League final success over Spain.

How have Liverpool honoured Jota and Silva?

Within hours of Jota's death being confirmed by Liverpool, Anfield was awash with touching tributes to their number 20, as fans and public figures gathered en masse to lay down flowers, shirts and messages of condolence.

Liverpool also opened physical and digital books of condolence for supporters, who can continue to sign the former version in the Anfield Road Stand reception area until 8pm on Tuesday evening.

Last night, the Reds also aired a special programme in memory of the late forward and his sibling, who represented Liga 2 Portugal club Penafiel at the time of his death.

Written by
Ben Knapton