In a moment that brought fresh heartbreak to an already grieving family, Rute Cardoso, longtime partner of the late footballer Diogo Jota, has discovered a torn and crumpled letter hidden deep in the pocket of a pair of trousers he wore just a day before the tragic crash.

The letter, barely intact, was scrawled in shaky ink — a sign, perhaps, of emotional turmoil or physical distress. But what stunned Rute the most were the ten words he had written, quietly, almost as if he wasn’t ready for anyone to see them yet.

“He knew something,” she reportedly whispered through tears. “I feel like he was trying to tell me… warn me… say goodbye.”

The note was dated precisely one day before the crash that took Jota’s life. The handwriting was unmistakably his, though slightly uneven. Those ten chilling words have not yet been released publicly, but sources close to the family described them as “deeply personal… and filled with love, regret, and a sense of finality.”

Rute, who had been going through some of Jota’s belongings as a form of private mourning, had no idea she would stumble upon something so raw. “It felt like hearing his voice again — but just for a second,” she told a family friend.

In the days following the crash, speculation swirled about Jota’s emotional state, particularly given some of his recent social media posts that fans now say were “coded goodbyes.” But nothing could have prepared anyone for this — a letter, hidden, half-destroyed, and filled with the unspoken weight of someone who might have sensed the end was near.

Fans have flooded social media with messages of love and heartbreak, many asking if the letter will ever be shared in full. But for now, Rute is holding it close — a fragile final connection to the man she loved.

“He didn’t get to say goodbye,” she said. “But maybe… maybe this was his way.”