July 9, 2025 | Portugal News Desk
As investigations into the tragic car crash that claimed the life of Portuguese football star Diogo Jota continue, a new and surprising detail has just emerged — and it’s already sparking a wave of speculation and heartbreak.
According to official telecom data obtained by investigators, Jota made one final phone call moments before the fatal crash — but the person on the receiving end was not his wife, Rute Cardoso.
Instead, he called his former coach from his youth academy, an elderly man identified only as “Mister Paulo”, who had mentored Jota from the age of 10.
📞 A Call Filled With Emotion
Police confirm that the call was placed at 8:11 PM, roughly six minutes before the Lamborghini veered off the road near Sintra. Though the content of the conversation has not been made public, “Mister Paulo” agreed to speak with Correio da Manhã under condition of anonymity.
“He just wanted to say thank you. He said he didn’t know why, but he felt like he needed to tell me I changed his life. He sounded calm. Focused. And then… the line cut off.”
The coach initially didn’t think much of the call — until he received the tragic news hours later.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Why me? Why not his wife? Or a teammate? I don’t have an answer.”
⌛ A Final Connection to His Roots
Family members say Jota had been reflecting heavily on his early footballing days in the week prior, and had even mentioned wanting to visit the old training field where he first kicked a ball.
One of his cousins told reporters:
“He wasn’t depressed. He wasn’t lost. But he was sentimental. Maybe nostalgic. Maybe sensing something.”
💬 Fans React
News of the call has gone viral on social media, where fans are now revisiting old clips of Jota as a boy training at the modest club where Mister Paulo still coaches part-time. One fan wrote:
“That call… it makes everything feel so human. So real. He didn’t call a manager. He didn’t call a teammate. He called the man who gave him his first dream.”
⚠️ Investigation Still Ongoing
While authorities continue to explore the exact cause of the accident — now believed to involve wildlife crossing and a sharp curve taken at high speed — the revelation of this final phone call adds a layer of emotion to an already devastating story.