Almost six months have passed since late Liverpool talisman Diogo Jota was killed in a tragic car wreck. The former Portugal international died alongside his brother, Andre Silva, in the early hours of July 3, though the pair only made the trip because Jota was unable to fly, having undergone a lung operation.

Jota, who would have been celebrating his 29th birthday on Thursday, had married his wife Rute Cardoso just 11 days before the tragedy unfolded. The football world was stunned by the death of such a high-profile Premier League star, and it wasn't long before the police investigation revealed the grisly details of his demise.

The Lamborghini Huracan he was travelling in with his brother spun off the road and quickly caught fire. Jota had been advised not to fly following lung surgery and was driving to Santander, where he and his brother planned to travel to England via an overnight ferry via Benavente before eventually landing in Portsmouth.

It's understood that one of the car's tyres suffered a blowout while overtaking another vehicle on the A-52 around 70 miles west of Valladolid. This caused their car to veer off the road at approximately 12:40 am, and it was engulfed in flames shortly after.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire while working in collaboration with emergency services and the Civil Guard. However, it was soon confirmed that both occupants had died shortly after they arrived on the scene.

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"The investigation into the crash is being carried out by Civil Guard traffic officers," read a statement from the Civil Guard in Zamora. "We believe the car suffered a blowout from the marks on the road. The full police report, once it is completed, will be submitted to a duty court in Zamora, which has launched an ongoing judicial investigation into this crash.

"That report is going to take time to complete, probably about four or five days, but possibly longer. At this moment in time, it is impossible to say exactly what speed the car was going, but that is something the Civil Guard investigators will be able to detail at least approximately in their final report from things like the skid marks. What I can confirm is that no other vehicle was involved and no one else was hurt."

Reports indicated fire damage to the wreck was so severe that it delayed tests identifying the two victims at first. In a heartbreaking twist, it emerged Jota's wife, Rute, had to identify the two men herself as police were unable to do so.

Speaking about their travel plans being altered following Jota's surgery, CNN Portugal's Rui Laura said: "The surgery he had had was lung surgery, and he had been advised against flying following this.

"He was on his way to the northern Spanish port city of Santander to cross the ferry and reach the UK that way and carry on with the car once he reached Britain. He was on his way to Liverpool with his brother."

Jota had stayed in Portugal following his role in the team's penalty shootout victory over Spain in the final of the Nations League on June 8. It was a couple of weeks later that he wed long-term partner Rute, with whom he shared three young children.

Liverpool right-back Andy Robertson and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher (now at Brentford) were both in attendance for Jota's nuptials. However, what should have been a summer of pure joy for Jota and his family descended into darkness overnight.

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