Diogo Jota tragically passed away in a freak car accident back in June, but fans were outraged after teammate Cristiano refused to attend the footballer’s funeral
Cristiano Ronaldo speaks about death of Diogo Jota
An emotional Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence on why he did not attend the funeral of Portugal teammate Diogo Jota. The tragic Liverpool star, 28, was killed in a horror car crash in July alongside his brother Andre Silva.
His death, which came just weeks after he tied the knot with childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, sparked an outpouring of emotion. Now, four months on, Ronaldo explained there were two main reasons he decided not to go this friend’s funeral.
He tearfully told Piers Morgan Uncensored: “Two things, people criticize me a lot. As I say, I don’t care about that, because when you feel your conscience is good, free, you don’t have to be worried about what the people say.
“But one of the things that I don’t do, it’s after my father died, I’ve never been in a cemetery again. And second… you know my reputation, wherever I go is a circus; I don’t go also because if I go, the attention goes for me and I don’t want this kind of attention.”
In the wake of the funeral, Ronaldo was slammed by some fans for not attending, despite his close connection with his national teammate. But he insisted that despite the backlash he received, he knew he did the right thing, paying tribute to his family privately.
The cemetery where Jota was laid to rest was flooded with football fans racing to take pictures with the grave, which resulted in the local church having to close the cemetery in order to give his grieving family some privacy and respect.
Ronaldo also recalled the moment he heard when Jota had sadly passed away, saying he “didn’t believe it” when he was told the news. “I cried a lot… it was very, very difficult moment for everybody — for the country, for families, for friends, for teammates, devastating.”
Paying tribute to the tragic ace, he said he was a “very good guy”, but revealed that he was actually a man of few words, and did not speak too much with others.
He added: “I had the opportunity to speak with their family and to give support, because… everything is gone because of one moment.”
Jota and his brother Andre Silva were killed when their car crashed on the A52 highway in northwestern Spain in June. The footballer’s Lamborghini tyre suddenly burst as the pair were racing along the motorway, sending the car off the road.
Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk and defender Andy Robertson attended his funeral on behalf of the Reds.
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