Diogo Jota, the beloved Liverpool forward, tragically lost his life in a car accident just days before his 29th birthday. A husband, father of three, and fierce competitor, his sudden passing left not just the football world — but much of Europe — in mourning.
What few knew was that both Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa had personal connections to the footballer
-
Dua’s brother had gone to school with Jota in Porto.
-
Ed’s daughter was a devoted fan, once calling Jota “the fastest man in the world, even when he smiled.”
The two artists came together to write a one-time-only acoustic duet titled “One More Match”, which they performed live at the funeral.
Ed began the song with trembling fingers on his guitar, voice barely above a whisper:
“You were lightning in motion / A heart with no brakes…”
Dua’s voice followed, soft but soaring:
At the second chorus, both singers looked visibly shaken. Dua stopped singing mid-line, covering her mouth. Ed reached out, took her hand, and for a few beats — they just stood there, letting the silence speak.
“That moment broke us,” Ed said later.
“You think you’re there to offer strength. But grief has a way of turning singers into mourners.”
Still, they pushed through.
The final line, sung together through tears:
After the performance, neither artist stayed for press. They simply left a bouquet of red and white flowers — the colors of Liverpool — on Jota’s coffin, with a handwritten note that read:
“You were music in motion. We’ll never forget your rhythm.”
Clips from the service quickly went viral, with fans around the world praising the vulnerability of the moment.
“It wasn’t polished. It was real. It was raw. And it was perfect,” one mourner said.
For a man known for his speed, his smile, and his quiet kindness, it was a send-off worthy of the legacy he left b
ehind.
And as one child in the front row whispered to his mother after the song ended:
“I think heaven just got its best striker.”
