Latest news with #RubenNeves
BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Wolves fans show their love for ex-player Jota before City clash
Wolverhampton Wanderers have remembered former player Diogo Jota, with fans unfurling a giant banner of him amid rapturous applause ahead of the team's first game of the new before the 17:30 BST kick-off against Manchester City, fans began clapping and holding up tributes, with those in the South Bank unveiling a huge tifo, or banner, of the much-loved favourite song, Fields of Gold by Sting, was heard prompting emotional scenes at the Liverpool footballer was killed along with his brother in a crash in northern Spain on 3 July. Jota's parents were at the Molineux to see the tribute along with Jota's wife Rute Cardoso, former Wolves player Ruben Neves and his international manager Roberto Martinez.A commemorative programme has been made for Saturday's game. There was a minute's applause by fans and cheering his name before tributes were paid to him at Anfield before, during and after Liverpool's 4-2 victory against Bournemouth. Jota moved to Wolves from Atletico Madrid in July 2017 - initially on a season-long loan that became permanent - before going on to join Liverpool in was inducted into Wolves' Hall of Fame last month club supporters' group the Old Gold Pack started a fundraiser for the group also designed six other banners that were placed on seats in the South Bank for fans to use for the tribute.A mural of Jota has also been painted by graffiti artist Joe Miles on a wall facing The Leaping Wolf pub on Waterloo Road. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The National
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Ask Mina: How will Liverpool cope with Diogo Jota's death and is Donnarumma to blame for Musiala injury?
Q: I've been deeply affected by the passing of Diogo Jota. As a Liverpool fan, I worry how his teammates will be expected to just return to normal. Will the club just be expected to overcome their grief? @Laithmarmarchi via Instagram A: I was beyond shocked to hear the news. To lose such a young and beloved player, in the prime of his life, in an accident, is not only a brutal reminder of how fragile life can be, but also of how uncertain it is. For many of us, football is a form of escape from a world that is growing more and more defined by grief and conflict. To then lose a player who brought so much joy to his club, teammates, and family feels unbearably cruel. I deeply empathise with your pain. Liverpool boss Arne Slot now faces the extraordinary challenge of preparing his team for the season while offering emotional support to players, all while processing his own grief. It's overwhelming, and I hope both media and supporters give the club the space and compassion to navigate this tragedy. Some will inevitably struggle – not just at Liverpool, but beyond. You can already see the emotional toll on players like Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo at Al Hilal. Others may find strength in playing for his memory, determined to honour him on the pitch. As for Liverpool, the club is yet to confirm whether their scheduled friendly against Preston North End on Sunday will go ahead. Their next confirmed fixture is the opening match of their pre-season tour of Asia, against AC Milan in Hong Kong, on July 26. We were all so excited to see how the new players would fare and how Liverpool would build upon their Premier League title triumph last season. What a horrible way to start pre-season. Q: The Nico Williams saga has kept me entertained. I really loved the player and hoped he would join Barcelona, but I'm astonished at his lack of professionalism @Commentinggenius via Instagram A: What is your issue, exactly? Williams taking steps to protect his future? The player has faced a barrage of criticism, particularly in the Catalan press, as has his 'entourage', for insisting on certain clauses in case Barcelona were unable to register the player. For context, Williams was all set to join Barcelona before performing a U-turn and signing a long-term contract with Athletic Club. The deal fell apart because, as Barcelona's own management have now acknowledged, they are still working toward meeting La Liga's 1:1 rule, meaning they are currently unable to register players freely. The rule limits spending to what the club earns, based on projected income calculated by La Liga. Barcelona ultimately could not guarantee they would be able to register Williams due to ongoing financial restrictions. Working in the best interest of his client, Williams' agent requested an escape clause to protect the player in case Barcelona were unable to complete the registration. Barcelona refused, fearing they would have wasted the €50m buyout fee to release him from his contract at Athletic if he left on a free transfer. With talks stalling, critical reports aimed at Williams and his representatives began circulating in the Catalan press, saying that, if he really loved the club, as he claimed, he would not request these types of clauses. Dani Olmo, Williams' Spanish teammate, was cited as a model example of a player signing for Barca and not asking for a similar clause. This was contradicted by a report in The Athletic, saying the midfielder did in fact have such a clause written into his contract when he signed from RB Leipzig last year. Spanish football expert Guillem Balagué set the record straight when contacted by The National: Olmo didn't have the clause when he first joined the club, but it was subsequently inserted into his contract last September. Williams was merely looking out for his best interests. There's nothing wrong with that. Q: What do you make of the injury to Jamal Musiala in the match between Bayern Munich and PSG? Manuel Neuer blamed Gianluigi Donnarumma, do you agree? @Zeeh107 on X A: Jamal Musiala's injury – a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle – came as a result of challenging for the ball with Donnarumma. The Paris Saint-Germain man came out to close Musiala down and do what any goalkeeper should do: try to win the ball. In doing so, he collided hard with Musiala's planted leg. The outcome was awful, but in my opinion, Donnarumma had every right to go for the ball. Bayern Munich captain Neuer didn't hold back, calling Donnarumma's challenge 'unnecessary' and publicly criticising the PSG goalkeeper for failing to check on Musiala immediately after the collision. To me, his comments appear more emotional than fair. Donnarumma, for his part, looked traumatised. He later told La Gazzetta dello Sport, 'I'm shaken by what happened. It was never my intention to hurt Musiala.' The Italian goalkeeper was reportedly so affected by the incident that he sought psychological support in the days that followed. Beyond the moment itself lies a bigger issue: should Musiala have even been on the pitch? He had only recently returned from a hamstring injury he suffered in April and was playing in an off-season tournament many view as excessive. The likes of Jurgen Klopp and Javier Tebas have long warned that the Club World Cup unnecessarily overloads players and heightens injury risks. Musiala is expected to be out of action for up to five months, a blow to both Bayern and Germany. Q: Jonathan David is officially a Juventus player. Is he the man to resolve their problems in attack? @Lanoushak via Instagram? A: Resolve the problems? No, but he will improve the attack significantly. While I've often pointed out Juventus' missteps in squad building, simply signing one or two better players won't fix the deeper issues. The club has repeatedly shown a lack of a coherent sporting vision, leaving the team to reset and rebuild almost every season. However, David is a great signing and one they've been chasing for some time. A consistent and clinical striker who scored 25 goals and grabbed 12 assists for Lille last season. David has reached double-digit goal figures in every campaign since 2019. He is also Canada's all-time leading scorer with 36 goals. Last year, Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch called him the most intelligent player he has worked with. 'His ability to put things into practice, his ability to read the game, what's necessary. He's really clever.' Lille boss Bruno Genesio extolled his former player's attributes, saying: 'He's a player who plays a big part in the game and above all, a player who's full of selflessness. He works enormously for the team. We all make an effort, but he's the perfect example of our team at this level.' Juventus desperately need to improve in attack. Last season, the Bianconeri averaged just 13.6 shots per game in Serie A. By comparison, top sides in England and Spain typically produce over 16 shots per game. Even Manchester United – hardly a tactical benchmark – managed more than Juve last term. Q: Luca Modric going to Milan at 39 – is Serie A just home to all ageing players? @Jenna_J7 via Instagram A: Modric is a commanding presence and an exceptional player, but time waits for no man, and Italy appears to have branded itself as the home of experience. Don't get me wrong, I understand perfectly why Modric was targeted and wanted by Milan. The Croatian, the 2018 Ballon d'Or, is a leader who commands respect. He is an example on the pitch and perfect for a coach who values veterans when building a sporting project – feeding off their intellect while surrounding them with runners. Andrea Pirlo was deemed too old when he arrived at Juve, and both Antonio Conte and then Max Allegri used him to build a team. Modric will join the Rossoneri after Real Madrid's involvement at the ongoing Club World Cup. No doubt he still has something to give, but I am aggrieved that Milan and Italy are not doing more to invest in nurturing their own talents. It's extraordinary to think that a club that finished eighth last season and struggled to string a bunch of decent results together still didn't have time to throw on a few youngsters like Francesco Camarda for more than a handful of minutes. This is a 17-year-old who scored 485 goals in 89 matches for Milan's youth sides. Did he not deserve more than 199 minutes of Serie A action last season? Yes, Camarda is a striker and Modric is a midfielder, but my point is, give youth a chance.
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Liverpool, Portugal Players Pay Respect to Diogo Jota and His Brother at Funeral
Players from Liverpool and Portugal's national team joined family and friends for the funeral of their teammate Diogo Jota and his brother on Saturday, two days after the siblings died in a car crash in Spain. Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk arrived carrying a red floral arrangement in the shape of a soccer shirt with Jota's No. 20 in white. Liverpool teammate Andrew Robertson carried a similar arrangement with the No. 30, the number worn by Jota's brother, André Silva, who played for Portuguese club Penafiel. Coach Arne Slot was part of the Liverpool contingent. Portugal international Rúben Neves served as a pallbearer for Jota a day after playing at the Club World Cup in the United States. He and Jota were teammates at Wolverhampton earlier in their careers. Neves and João Cancelo attended the funeral after playing in Orlando on Friday, when their Al Hilal was eliminated by Fluminense. Both players had wept when a minute of silence was held before the quarterfinal match. The service was held at Igreja Matriz church in the Portuguese town of Gondomar, where Jota had a home. Church bells pealed at 10:00 a.m. local time as the funeral started. Pallbearers carried the caskets of both brothers from a chapel next door and into the church. Relatives and hundreds of friends and acquaintances, including players of the local Gondomar FC where Jota started playing at age 9, then followed. Portugal's national team coach Roberto Martinez and several other top Portuguese players also attended, including Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias and Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes. "These are really, really sad days, as you can imagine," Martínez said. "But today we showed we are a large, close family. ... Their spirit will be with us forever." The bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, led the funeral mass. The church was filled to capacity and a couple of dozen people followed the service via loudspeaker from outside. Afterward, the coffins were carried to the cemetery next to the church. Jota, 28, and the 25-year-old Silva were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain early Thursday after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway just after midnight and burst into flames. The brothers were reportedly heading to catch a boat from northern Spain to go to England where Jota was to rejoin with Liverpool after a summer break. Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve another vehicle, they said. They said they believe it could have been caused by a blown tire. Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family. A wake was held for them on Friday. Jota's death occurred two weeks after he married long-time partner Rute Cardoso while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier League. The couple had three children, with the youngest born last year. Their loss led to an outpouring of condolences from the soccer world and Portuguese officials. Reporting by The Associated Press.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
'Frightened' Mohamed Salah leads downcast Liverpool stars returning to work for pre-season training, five days after team-mate Diogo Jota's death
Liverpool 's stars have been pictured returning for pre-season training, just days after Diogo Jota 's tragic death. Jota, 28, was laid to rest at Gondomar cemetery in Portugal on Saturday after he and his brother, Andre Silva, 25, were killed when their car crashed in the early hours of Thursday morning in northern Spain. The accident came just 11 days after Jota had married childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, also 28, who is the mother of his two sons Dinis, four, and Duarte, two as well as his baby daughter Mafalda, who is just eight months old. The devastating news has left the footballing world in shock and several stars were present at Jota and his brother's funeral on Saturday. This included the Liverpool team, Reds boss Arne Slot and many of Jota's Portuguese team-mates, such as Ruben Neves, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva. And on Tuesday, Liverpool's stars were back in pre-season training and pictures emerged of them arriving. This included Salah, who was one of several of Jota's team-mates to pen an emotional tribute after news of his passing before he also opened up on how he would be 'frightened' to return to Liverpool's AXA Training Centre for pre-season as a result. 'I am truly lost for words,' Salah said, who was a team-mate of Jota for five years at Anfield but was unable to attend his funeral. 'Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team-mates come and go but not like this. 'It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back. 'My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.' Salah and Jota played 151 matches together for Liverpool and combined for goals on 19 occasions. Overall, Jota made 182 appearances for the Reds and scored 65 goals, while he provided 26 assists. He was part of the Liverpool squad that won the Premier League title last season and previously won the FA Cup and two League Cups. Alongside Salah, the likes of Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson were also pictured arriving for the start of pre-season on Tuesday. Jota and his brother Andre died last week when his Lamborghini had a tyre blow out while overtaking another vehicle on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora. The car is said to have burst into flames, with the brothers tragically unable to be saved. They had been heading to Santander in order to get a ferry to Britain, with Diogo advised not to fly after lung surgery. Meanwhile, on Tuesday it was reported that a Spanish road safety expert claimed the Lamborghini supercar they were driving looked like it was going 'very fast'. Road safety expert Javier Lopez Delgado pointed the finger at 'multiple factors' including the driving speed, saying: 'If they had been going at 55mph they probably wouldn't have been killed. 'It seems very clear they were going very fast because of the skid marks.' However, Mr Lopez Delgado, president of the Spanish Association of Road Safety Auditors (ASEVI), also said he believed the road surface had been a contributing factor to the men's deaths, insisting: 'You can clearly see it had many faults.' In comments to local paper La Opinion de Zamora, the expert engineer said the blown-out tyre not having the 'right conditions or correct pressure', wouldn't be the only factor in the crash. He told La Opinion de Zamora the central reservation barrier the siblings crashed into acted as an 'obstacle' because 'the length and angle of incidence were not correct.' Referencing another accident in the same spot eight days earlier in which a 60-year-old woman was severely injured and had to be cut free from the wreckage of her vehicle by firefighters, Mr Lopez Delgado said: 'It could be a coincidence but I'm not a big believer in coincidences. 'When two different cars come off the road at the same kilometre point something's up.' Meanwhile, police preparing a report on last Thursday's fatal accident on the A-52 near Zamora by Spain 's north-west border with Portugal are yet to say how fast they think the acid green £180,000 Lamborghini Huracan was going. It is not yet clear whether the Civil Guard or the investigating court awaiting the full police report will make the findings public and officials have not yet said who was driving. The force said the same day of the 12.30am crash in the sparsely-populated municipality of Cernadilla just ten miles over the border with Portugal: 'Everything is pointing to a tyre blowout as the car was overtaking.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Cristiano Ronaldo holidays on a yacht in Mallorca with partner Georgina Rodriguez amid questions over why he didn't attend team-mate Diogo Jota's funeral for 'personal reasons'
Cristiano Ronaldo has been pictured for the first time since opting not to attend the funeral of Diogo Jota, who tragically passed away following a traffic accident last week. Jota, 28, and his brother, Andre Silva, 25, were killed when their car crashed in the early hours of Thursday morning in northern Spain. The accident came just 11 days after Jota had married childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso, also 28, who is the mother of his two sons Dinis, four, and Duarte, two as well as his baby daughter Mafalda, who is just eight months old. The pair were laid to rest at Gondomar cemetery in Portugal on Saturday afternoon, with many of Jota's Portuguese international team-mates, including Bernardo Silva and Ruben Neves, paying their respects to the forward. However, the Portugal captain was not one of them, and it's believed that he decided not to go to the funeral due to previous tragedies that he has suffered in his life. Two days on from the funeral, Ronaldo has been pictured holidaying on a yacht in Mallorca with Georgina Rodriguez as he continues to come to terms with his Jota's passing. It has been reported that by Portuguese media that the 40-year-old was on board the yacht when many had expected him to fly to Gondomar, a muncipality near Porto. According to Portuguese outlet Record, Ronaldo may have opted not to attend the event due to sensitivities surrounding the death of his father, Jose Diniz Aveiro, who died in September 2005 - when Ronaldo was just 20 years old. Ronaldo was shocked to hear of Jota's passing but is said to have not made the journey as he did not wish for his presence to overshadow the importance of people paying their respects to Jota and his brother. While the Al-Nassr forward has come in for criticism from some quarters over his absence - he was publicly defended by his sister Katia on social media. Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'When my father died, in addition to the pain of loss, we had to deal with a flood of cameras and curious onlookers at the cemetery and everywhere we went. 'And attention was not what it is today in terms of access... At no time were we (the children) able to leave the chapel; it was only possible at the time of the burial, such was the commotion. 'At the funeral, there were presidents, coaches of the national team at the time, such as Luís Filipe Scolari, etc. I don't remember seeing any of them. And they certainly greeted me. The pain blinded me. 'About pain/family and real support... You will never know what it means until you go through it. If someone sends me a message criticising anything my brother does, I will block it (completely ignore it), that is, they will only do it once. 'It's getting tiring. The fanaticism. The criticism for nothing, I repeat nothing... Sick society... We all have families. 'It is absurdly shameful to watch TV channels/commentators/social networks emphasising an absence (wise) rather than respectfully honouring the pain of a mutilated family destroyed by the loss of two brothers. I am even ashamed to watch. Regrettable. 'And so the world goes... Society and opinion. Today they are worthless. They themselves have become bottomless pits. I feel sorry... And war is also like that. Believe me. Human evil is also a war. And every day we have to fight against it. And so it goes.'
