Diogo Jota’s incredible legacy to his family: The huge sum set to be inherited by tragic Liverpool star’s wife and their three small children after crash death
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Tragic footballer Diogo Jota’s widow could stand to inherit up to £35million from his estate for the financial security of her and their three children, MailOnline can reveal.
The Liverpool star, 28, who died alongside his brother Andre, 25, in a crash last week in Spain, has been signed with Premier League clubs since 2018 – and amassed a fortune in that time.
Jota first signed a contract with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018 which saw him earn £38,000 a week.
Two years of these wages saw him earn £3,952,000 before he hit the big time with a move to Anfield, where the first two years of his four year contract at £83,000 per week saw him pocket another £8,632,000.
As a result of his phenomenal talent, Liverpool then extended the deal for five years in 2022 and upped his wages to £140,000 in a contract that saw him earn £21,840,000 before his tragic death.
Built into this was performance bonuses, and his 65 goals in 182 games contributed to his wealth. However, he was also an Esports entrepreneur and global brand ambassador.
Jota was due to receive another £14.5million for the remaining two years of his contract, which despite reports in Portuguese media suggesting Liverpool will honour, has not yet been confirmed.
It means Jota’s total earnings of around £34.4million since arriving in the Premier League could be inherited by Rute and their two sons Dinis, four, Duarte, two, and their eight-month-old baby daughter Mafalda.
Diogo Jota tragically died just days after marrying childhood sweetheard Rute Cardoso – who he shares three young children with
Pictured: The couple and their three children on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League
Jota, 28, and his brother Andre, 26 – also a footballer, who played for Portuguese second division side Penafiel – both died on Thursday following a tragic car crash in Spain
It is not known how much of this money he had spent, but a chunk of it had been invested in a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house in the upmarket north Liverpool suburb of Blundellsands.
According to publicly available land registry documents, Jota and his wife bought the house in May 2022 for £2,125,000, where they rubbed shoulders with other players.
The house had been listed for three years before selling and had been previously rented out.
A brochure of the house available online shows an ornately tiled marble entrance hall leading to a reception area with a brass and wrought iron staircase.
The ground floor living area has Georgian style double doors, underfloor heating and a Bose sound system.
In the kitchen there are two sink units and a five hob Gaggenau cooker, wine chiller and fitted walnut units with granite work surfaces.
The indoor pool is 39ft long and there is also a jacuzzi and steam room, while the games room has a snooker table and a pool table.
Also on the ground floor is an eight-seat home cinema room with a surround sound system.
Rute Cardoso, 28, who is the mother of his three children, is the beloved Portuguese athlete’s high school sweetheart and has been by his side since the star. Pictured: The couple in 2012 as teenagers
Jota described himself as the luckiest man in the world in an interview released after the couple walked down the aisle in Portugal
Companies House records in the UK also show that Jota set up an image rights company called Minute J Ltd in February 2023 to channel some of his football earnings and his father Joaquim was also associated with it.
The first set of accounts filed in December 2024 cover the period the initial first 12 months of the company and show it made £186,754 but owed creditors £49,786, with the bulk of £44,825 to HMRC for Corporation Tax.
Football players often set up image rights companies as a way to control earnings from things like name, nickname, squad number which might be used in sponsorship, merchandising and endorsements.
Besides his earnings from football Jota also had lucrative deals with Nike and EA Sports bringing in an estimated £3.3million a year and he set up his own Esports team called Luna Galaxy.
According to Portuguese media, Jota also had a collection of luxury cars worth more than £1million including a Range Rover Sport, Porsche 911 Turbo S, a Ferrari 488, an Audi Q7 and a Mercedes-Benz G63AMG.
Website, The Richest, in a detailed profile of Jota’s financial worth, said: ‘He left behind a financial legacy few soccer players achieve so young.
‘His business smart matched his on-field vision, he left behind a blueprint for how athletes can build wealthy and legacy beyond the pitch.’
Jota’s tragic death came just 13 days after he wedded Rute, his teenage sweetheart.
The happy couple were pictured with their children Denis, Duarte, and eight-month-old baby daughter Mafalda
At the ceremony he declared himself the luckiest man in the world to be her husband and a series of emotional images and videos were posted to social media of their special day.
Many who were there on what Rute described as that ‘dream come true’ wedding day then had to devastatingly fly in for Jota and his brother’s funeral just over two weeks later.
Family and friends, including footballers, came from all corners of the globe to the 17th-century Igreja Matriz church.
It was there that they heard the Bishop of Porto, D. Manuel Linda, send a message to the couple’s three children.
The bishop said: ‘At this moment you are suffering immensely or perhaps not because you do not realise it. The ones who suffer a lot are your mother and your grandparents.
‘Seeing the mortal remains of a child must be a greater torment, but when there are two urns there are no words.
‘If it is difficult to see an adult cry, it is even more difficult to see a child cry. I send you a special greeting for your mother and grandparents.’
Mourners wore Diogo Jota shirts and paid tribute at Anfield Stadium following his tragic death
Mourners wore Diogo Jota shirts and paid tribute at Anfield Stadium following his tragic death
Tributes included wreaths spelling out his name, Liverpool scarfs, flags and tops
Fans attended the funeral of late Portugal’s player Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, in Gondomar
Rute Cardoso helps as pallbearers carry a coffin, at the funeral ceremony of her late husband Liverpool’s Portuguese soccer player Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva
Family and friends gathered for the funeral service held at Igreja Matriz de Gondomar in the town of Gondomar near Porto
The coffins of Jota And Silva were carried by family, former teammates and friends into the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar where the funeral was held
Both coffins were carried through the front doors of the church to the sound of violins and applause in a procession led by two priests at 10am.
Jota’s Liverpool team-mates flew in overnight. They included Virgil van Dijk, the club’s captain, and Andrew Robertson, who carried red wreaths in the shape of football shirts emblazoned with Jota’s number 20 and his brother’s number 30.
Former Liverpool players, including Jordan Henderson and James Milner, were also present.
Jota and his brother were 190 miles into a trip from Porto to Santander, where he planned to take a ferry to England, when they crashed in the Spanish province of Zamora.
Their bodies were buried, not cremated, in a graveyard screened by olive trees. Jota’s team-mates from his former club Wolves, including Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio, joined club officials to pay their respects.
Rute walked alongside pallbearers and other mourners, dressed in all white and carrying her husband’s coffin
Rute rested her head on the coffin of her late husband as it was carried to the church
Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson paid their respects, carrying bouquets of flowers on the day of the funeral ceremony
Van Dijk was visibly emotional as he hid his eyes behind dark sunglasses and sobbed in to a tissue
Former Liverpool Captain Jordan Henderson wiped tears as he paid his respects to his former team mate
They were spotted escorting a Wolves-themed wreath which read: ‘Diogo your desire to fight and win lit up Molineux.’
Speaking after the service, Roberto Martinez, the Portugal manager, was emotional as he told of his sadness over the tragedy.
He said: ‘I can only say that these are very, very sad days. Today was a demonstration for Diogo and Andre that we are all together and that we are Portugal.
‘Now, I would like to thank everyone for their presence, for all the messages from all over the world. We are with Andre Silva and Diogo Jota. Always, always with us.’
