The soccer star had reportedly opted to take the longer route because he’d been advised by doctors not to get on a plane while recovering from a lung-related surgery.

As a child Diogo Jota idolized Cristiano Ronaldo. In a career that took him to soccer stardom, he would go on to call the Portugal great a teammate and win some of the sport’s biggest trophies.

Mr. Jota and his brother André Silva died in Spain, the authorities said. The crash came two weeks after the Portuguese player’s wedding.