Carrying a red floral wreath bearing his shirt number, Diogo Jota’s Liverpool teammates have joined relatives and residents in a small Portuguese town for the funeral of the soccer star, who died with his brother in a car crash on Thursday.

Club captain Virgil Van Dijk, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and manager Arne Slot were among Liverpool teammates past and present who attended the service in Gondomar on Saturday for the striker and his brother, Andre Silva.

The English Premier League stars carried two floral tributes in the club’s red colour into the chapel, each in the shape of a shirt.

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The one carried by Van Dijk had the number 20 written in white flowers, which Jota wore on his Liverpool shirt.

The other bore the number 30, which was worn by Jota’s brother, who played for FC Penafiel in Portugal’s second division.

Dressed in black and with their heads bowed, the teammates entered the church in silence. The only sound was the applause from the crowd outside.

Virgil Van Dijk arrives at the funeral. Credit: AAP

Diogo Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso at the funeral. Credit: AAP

Floral tributes at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium. Credit: AAP

Rute Cardoso, who married her childhood sweetheart Jota only weeks before the fatal crash, arrived with relatives.

Hundreds of residents of Gondomar, a small town in northern Portugal where Jota grew up, gathered outside.

The private service was presided over by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda.

In an emotional homily addressed to Jota’s parents, his wife and their three young children, Linda said “solidarity in love is always stronger than death”.

Teammates from the Portugal national squad, including Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, who both play in the English Premier League, also attended the service.

“Jota will always be in our hearts. He will always be present at every breakfast, lunch, dinner, at all our national team get-togethers, at our PlayStation games, at our card games,” Silva told Portuguese broadcaster TVI.

Jota’s death at the age of 28 sent shock waves through the world of soccer and beyond, with messages of condolences pouring in from national leaders as well as across the sport.

Fans continued to lay flowers and other tributes to the striker on Saturday outside Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.

The brothers were believed to have been driving to a ferry in Spain to travel to Britain when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst.

Jota and Rute Cardoso were married less than two weeks ago. Credit: Instagram

Tributes flow for much-loved star

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has admitted he is fearful of what awaits when he returns to the club in the wake of Diogo Jota’s death.

Players were due back this weekend to begin the preliminaries of pre-season. However, the first tranche of the phased return scheduled for Friday has been postponed.

“I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break,” Salah wrote on social media.

“Team mates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.

“My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children.

“Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.”

Former Liverpool captain and team-mate Jordan Henderson joined the thousands of mourners to have laid a tribute at the temporary shrine which has built up outside Anfield.

“Jots it was a pleasure to share a pitch with you but more importantly a friendship. All the laughs we had off the pitch and trying to find ways to wind milly (teammate James Milner) up and get him fined, which we never could,” the England midfielder wrote on Instagram.

“Taking pictures of me asleep on the bus travelling then sending them to me later. You always wanted to have a laugh and were a pleasure to be around.”

Mourners gathered at a wake in Portugal, ahead of the brothers’ funeral on Saturday.

Portuguese prime minister Luis Montenegro, Porto president Andre Villas-Boas, Portuguese football federation president Pedro Proenca and Jota’s longtime agent Jorge Mendes joined the brothers’ family including Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier, at a private wake in the brothers’ home town of Gondomar in northern Portugal.

“It is a moment of great pain for the family, who are left anchored to this tragic accident,” Proenca said as he left the wake. “Diogo was an icon for the talent that Portuguese football represents and for its ability to generate unity around a person.”

Liverpool fans wear shirts in memory of Diogo Jota outside Anfield, where club shops are shuttered. Credit: AAP

Liverpool, who are supporting Jota’s family, have opened a book of condolence, both physical in the Anfield Road Stand and online, lowered flags to half-mast and closed all stores and the museum and suspended all tours until Monday.

Fans continue to leave flowers, scarves and shirts outside Anfield and there are similar scenes at Wolves’ Molineux Stadium, where Jota spent three years before his move to Liverpool.

Jota was also remembered at Wimbledon as two Portuguese players wore a black ribbon on their all-white attire during their matches.

The All England Club has a strict dress code for players while on court but permission to wear the ribbon was granted.

Nuno Borges, who at No. 37 is Portugal’s highest-ranked tennis player, attached a ribbon to his hat for his third-round match against Karen Khachanov on No.3 Court.

Francisco Cabral wore a black ribbon on his left sleeve during a doubles match.