Diogo Jota dies: Liverpool manager Arne Slot's heartfelt tribute to star forward, ‘Not a friend to two people, a friend to everyone'

Indian Express

4 hours ago

Tributes from the football world have poured in for Liverpool's forward Diogo Jota after the 28-year-old passed away in a fatal car crash with his brother Andre Silva in Spain on Thursday, only weeks after his UEFA Nations League title triumph with Portugal and recent wedding with his long-time partner, Rute Cardoso.
Reports have stated that Jota was due to ferry back to England for pre-season training with Liverpool after being advised not to fly back due to a recent surgery. Liverpool head coach penned a heartfelt tribute for his 'special forward' who was part of their Premier League triumph last season. Jota had scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the club after joining from Wolves in 2020, also lifting an FA Cup and two Carabao Cups with Liverpool.
'What to say? What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and the pain is so incredibly raw? I wish I had the words but I know I do not,' Slot wrote in his statement.
'All I have are feelings that I know so many people will share about a person and a player we loved dearly and a family we care so much about.
'My first thoughts are not those of a football manager. They are of a father, a son, a brother and an uncle and they belong to the family of Diogo and Andre Silva who have experienced such an unimaginable loss.
'My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone. The players, the staff, the supporters of Liverpool Football Club are all with you and from what I have seen today, the same can be said of the wider family of football.
'This is not solely a response to tragedy. It is also a reaction to the goodness of the people involved and the respect that so many have for the boys as individuals and for the family as a whole.
Slot recalled the qualities that made Jota a standout and also recalled his early impressions of the forward since taking over as manager at the Reds last year.
'For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a team-mate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special. 'I could say so much about what he brought to our team but the truth is everyone who watched Diogo play could see it. Hard work, desire, commitment, great quality, goals. The essence of what a Liverpool player should be.
'There were also the parts that not everyone got to see. The person who never sought popularity but found it anyway. Not a friend to two people, a friend to everyone. Someone who made others feel good about themselves just by being with them. A person who cared deeply for his family. The last time we spoke, I congratulated Diogo on winning the Nations League and wished him luck for his forthcoming wedding. In many ways, it was a dream summer for Diogo and his family, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that it should end like this.
'When I first came to the club, one of the first songs I got to know was the one that our fans sing for Diogo. I had not worked with him previously but I knew straight away that if the Liverpool supporters, who have seen so many great players over the years, had such a unique chant for Diogo, he must have special qualities.
'That we have lost those qualities in such terrible circumstances is something we have not yet come to terms with. For this reason, we need everyone at the club to stand together and to be there for one another. We owe this to Diogo, to Andre Silva, to their wider family and to ourselves.
'My condolences go to Diogo's wife, Rute, their three beautiful children and to the parents of Diogo and Andre Silva.
'When the time is right, we will celebrate Diogo Jota, we will remember his goals and we will sing his song. For the time being, we will remember him as a unique human being and mourn his loss. He will never be forgotten.
'His name is Diogo.'