A cover turned Rúben Neves’s support for Rute Cardoso into a romantic insinuation. In September 2025, the Portuguese magazine TV Guia published an image of the footballer alongside Diogo Jota’s widow and suggested that she found support in him after her husband’s death.
Neves and Jota had been friends and former teammates. Jota died alongside his brother in an accident in Spain on July 3, 2025. Weeks later, on August 16, Neves accompanied Cardoso during the tribute Wolverhampton dedicated to Jota at the opening match of the Premier League season.
Neves publicly criticized the cover on social media, but users on social media had already echoed the claim: “He’s the worst friend in history”, one fan said, accusing the footballer of betraying his former great teammate 💔