Diogo Jota was on his way to take a ferry and return to Liverpool for pre-season training when he died in a car accident, BBC Sport has been told.
The Portugal forward, who was 28, had undergone minor surgery so doctors had advised him against flying.
As result, he was planning to return to Liverpool for the start of pre-season, due to begin on Monday, by boat.
This is understood to mean he was travelling by car from Porto to take a ferry from Santander in northern Spain.
Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, crashed in the Spanish province of Zamora and died.