Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his wife Rute Cardoso have once again melted hearts across social media after sharing adorable new photos of their youngest son, Dinis, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his father. The images, posted by Rute on Instagram on January 17, 2026, show the little boy — now approaching his second birthday — with the same intense dark eyes, mischievous smile, and thick eyebrows that have made Jota one of the Premier League’s most recognizable faces. Fans immediately flooded the comments with the same reaction: “He’s literally a mini Diogo!” and “This is the cutest doppelgänger ever.”
The couple, who married in a private ceremony in Portugal in June 2022, welcomed their first son, Duarte, in 2021, and Dinis followed in early 2024. While Duarte has inherited more of his mother’s softer features, Dinis is widely regarded as Jota’s “carbon copy.” The latest photos — Dinis wearing a tiny Liverpool kit and holding a football — have gone viral, racking up over 1.2 million likes and thousands of comments within hours. “He’s going to terrorize defenses just like his dad,” one fan joked. Another wrote: “Future Ballon d’Or winner loading… same eyes, same stare!”
Jota, 29, has been open about fatherhood on social media and in interviews, often sharing how his sons keep him grounded amid the pressures of elite football. “They don’t care if I score or miss — they just want to play,” he told The Athletic in 2024. The Portuguese international, who joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020, has balanced his career with family life, frequently posting pictures of the boys at Anfield or training with him in the garden. Rute, a former model and influencer, has also embraced the public side of their life, regularly sharing family moments that blend everyday parenting with the glamour of Premier League stardom.
The resemblance has sparked lighthearted comparisons online. Fans have created side-by-side montages of Jota celebrating goals and Dinis grinning with a toy ball, while others joke about future scenarios: “Dinis scoring at Anfield in 2040 — the Jota dynasty continues.” The photos have also drawn praise for showing a softer side of the often intense forward. “Diogo’s a warrior on the pitch, but you see pure love when he’s with his boys,” one supporter commented.
The couple has kept much of their private life away from the spotlight, rarely granting interviews about their children. Yet the occasional glimpses — like these new photos — remind fans why Jota remains one of the most popular figures at Liverpool. With the Reds in strong title contention in the 2025-26 season, Jota’s form has been crucial, and many believe his family life gives him the balance he needs to perform at the highest level.
As Dinis grows up looking more and more like his father, the internet has unofficially crowned him “Mini Jota.” Whether he follows in his dad’s footsteps on the pitch remains to be seen — but one thing is clear: the Jota family has captured hearts far beyond the football field.
