Diogo Jota has admitted that he had a “very tough season” on an individual level, but he will “cherish forever” winning the league at Liverpool.
It is by no means certain that Jota will leave Liverpool this summer. However, if he were to depart, his final season would be looked back on as somewhat of a microcosm of his Reds career.
A player with a knack for popping up in the right place in the opposition box, he scored some crucial goals, nine in total – notably April’s Merseyside derby winner – but had his campaign disrupted by injury.
The Portugal international told Liverpool’s official website: “It was a very tough season for me, where I got a proper injury halfway through it, where I was playing well. It didn’t help at all.”
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For club and country, Jota missed 18 matches through injury this season as he suffered knocks to his foot and ribs in October, before picking up a “little niggle,” Arne Slot said in January. He then failed to consistently maintain his fitness for the rest of the campaign.
Despite his issues, the 28-year-old still scored nine goals across all competitions, averaging 0.4 goals per 90 minutes, a ratio of nearly one goal every two games.
Jota added: “To arrive at this particular season with the title that I’ve been chasing for a lot of years and in the best league in the world – for me where I dreamed to play as a kid – it’s a moment I will cherish forever.
“It is a remarkable achievement for a small guy that came from Gondomar, where I had this dream. To arrive at this moment was outstanding.
“It’s massive. It’s something I could not even dream when I was a kid. I wanted to play in the Premier League but I didn’t even imagine to win it, I just wanted to be there playing. I knew it was the best league in the world.”
Jota signed for Liverpool in 2020, the summer after the Reds’ last Premier League title win, and he has scored 65 goals in 182 appearances.
Reflecting on his career in England to date, he said: “I fulfilled my dream when I played for Wolverhampton, because I was there. But then when you achieve a dream you unlock another phase, another level, another step and when I came to Liverpool I knew that was possible. I did it in the end.
“I think from the moment I arrived I always played a big part in the teams throughout the years with [Jurgen] Klopp and now with Arne, and finally we did it.
“It’s a moment I will cherish forever, like I said, because it’s a remarkable achievement.”
Having won the League Cup and FA Cup in 2022, as well as this year’s Premier League title, Jota recently added the UEFA Nations League to his trophy cabinet, as he came on in extra time to help Portugal beat Spain on penalties in the final.
