Liverpool Pays Tribute to Jota with Community Mural at Anfield

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22-07-2025

Diogo Jota Remembered: Anfield Mural Unveiled in Heartfelt Tribute
Shockwaves Through Liverpool After Jota Tragedy
There are moments in football that transcend the game — moments that stop a city, slow a squad, and hush even the most raucous of crowds. The death of Diogo Jota, aged just 28, is one of those. The Liverpool forward, who shared his professional journey with passion and poise, died alongside his brother in a devastating car crash in Spain last week. Their sports car caught fire, ending two young lives far too soon.
In the wake of the tragedy, Liverpool cancelled Friday's scheduled pre-season fitness testing, opting for what was described as a 'staggered return' for players. It was, the club said, 'to give the squad more time to process Thursday's news and say goodbye' — a rare but necessary pause in a sport that rarely waits.
From Sunday onwards, players began quietly returning to Kirkby. No press briefings. No content days. Just room for grief, silence, and remembrance.
Call for Tribute Becomes Street Art Reality
The response from Liverpool fans was immediate. Grief gave way to action. There was an outpouring of calls for a lasting tribute — and within five days of Jota's passing, a mural now adorns the walls of Sybil Road, mere steps from the Anfield gates.
Created by the street art collective Murwalls, and reported today by the Liverpool Echo, the 'FOREVER 20' mural is more than a painted face. It's a growing archive of emotion, scrawled in marker pens and spray cans. Against a black background, messages of love and loss appear in bold rainbow colours: 'Our Number 20. YNWA' and 'RIP Jota, thanks for the memories.'
A City's Icons, Now Joined by Jota
Jota now sits among Liverpool's painted pantheon. Alongside the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, and Jamie Carragher, his likeness stands frozen in tribute. The mural does not merely commemorate a player, but a man whose impact far exceeded statistics or goals scored.
The artwork comes courtesy of Paul Curtis, one of Liverpool's most recognised muralists, known for creating the city's iconic Liver Bird wings. He launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the project, targeting £2,000 to cover materials and equipment.
'Following the tragic and untimely death of Anfield favourite, Diogo Jota, it has been suggested that a mural should be painted in the Anfield area. This mural will be for the fans, from the fans and painted by a fan,' Curtis said. 'We will also be donating funds to a charity (to be chosen) once the costs of the mural are covered.'
He added, 'The money will be used to cover the costs of the mural, including the hire of a cherry picker and the costs of materials. If we exceed these costs, then the extra money raised will go to a charity (we are trying to find out what Diogo's chosen charities are at the moment).'
A Community's Final Assist
In an era where football tributes often arrive with grand commercial backing, this one was as local as they come. Grassroots, crowdfunded, fan-driven. A wall transformed into a memorial, not by club edict, but by the will of a grieving city.
Jota's time in Liverpool was brief in the grand scale of Anfield legends, but his impact now lies etched on brick and in memory. And perhaps that's the greatest measure of legacy in football: when your name lingers, not just in chant or stat sheet, but in the hearts of a city.