Mourners arrive for Diogo Jota's wake in Liverpool forward's hometown in Portugal

Family and friends of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother have gathered for a private wake at the soccer player's hometown in northern Portugal.

Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, André Silva, were found dead near Zamora in north-western Spain after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway and burst into flames just after midnight on Thursday, local time.

Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family, Spanish government officials said.

Mourners were seen hugging and weeping before entering the Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, where the funeral for the siblings is planned for Saturday.

Dioga Jota has been remembered as a player who never "forgot his roots". (Reuters: Hannah Mckay)

Jota and his parents both have homes in Gondomar, where he started his playing career as a child.

Gondomar is a working-class town next to Porto, where Jota was born.

Jota's death occurred two weeks after he married long-time partner Rute Cardoso while on holiday from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier League title.

The couple have three children, the youngest born last year.

Jota's legacy will live forever Photo shows Diogo Jota looks to the heavens and smiles Diogo Jota wasn't Liverpool's best player or the most famous. But he will be immortalised in a song that is proof of how deeply he wove himself into the fabric of the city.

Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve another vehicle, they said.

His brother Silva played with Portuguese club Penafiel in the lower divisions.

Condolences poured in from Portuguese officials and the world of soccer as news of the accident spread.

In Liverpool, fans laid flower wreaths and team scarves outside Anfield stadium, while a moment of silence was held before Portugal played Spain at the Women's European Championship in Switzerland.

Portuguese tennis star Francisco Cabral wears a black ribbon in memory of Diogo Jota at Wimbledon. (AP: Mike Egerton/PA )

The loss was felt sharply in his hometown, especially at his first soccer club, where Jota started playing at age nine.

"He never forgot his roots, nor his friends, because he had a group of friends who were with him in the training here in Gondomar and who he even invited from time to time to go and watch Liverpool games in England," Gondomar SC director Anselmo Serra told The Associated Press.

" They were like a group of friends that he never forgot over the years. "

AP/ Reuters

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