Luis Diaz has said that he broke down in tears upon hearing of the death of Diogo Jota and recalled a ‘very nice’ gesture from his Liverpool teammate two years ago.
The Portuguese forward and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a car crash in northern Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning, with their funeral taking place in their hometown near Porto on Saturday.
The Colombia international was unable to attend that service but has paid an emotional tribute to the Reds’ number 20.
Diaz pays tribute to Diogo Jota
Speaking to Win Sports about the tragedy, Diaz said: “Obviously it’s very hard. It’s very hard to find out about news like that, isn’t it? The first thing you do when you wake up is to look at the news, which is very sad because of what happened, honestly.
“The family among us, it caught us all off guard and I don’t think anyone is prepared for that kind of news. A team-mate, instrumental in my arrival in Liverpool because his family welcomed me, he welcomed me and we became great friends. We had a great, healthy rivalry and he was important. We always agree on many things.
“I just want to wish him a lot of strength, give a lot of strength to his family, to his wife, to his children that he left behind, because the truth is they must be suffering a lot from this terrible news. It was incredible when I woke up and saw the news. The truth is I broke down in tears. It as a very, very, very big pain.”
Diaz also recalled how, after scoring against Nottingham Forest in October 2023, Jota held up his number 7 shirt at Anfield when the Colombian’s father had been in captivity during a harrowing kidnap ordeal.
The 28-year-old said: “I remember that he had a very, very nice gesture towards me and that is always going to stay with me. I just want to tell him to rest in peace, that I will carry a great friend with me in my heart who will always be remembered by his team, by his family, by his friends and by everyone he left behind.”
Jota’s gesture for Diaz says so much about him as a person
Jota had been at Liverpool for almost 18 months – and in English football for four-and-a-half years – when Diaz joined from Porto in January 2022, and his warmth in welcoming the Colombian will no doubt have helped him to settle in on Merseyside.
He was evidently touched by the aforementioned gesture from his teammate in the aforementioned Forest game, a moment of genuine class which speaks volumes for Diogo’s character.
Eulogies from two former Wolves teammates in Conor Coady (‘incredible human being’) and Ruben Neves (‘more than a friendship, we’re family’) also attest to the kind of person that the Reds’ number 20 was, as does Arne Slot’s description of him as someone ‘who never sought popularity but found it anyway’.
That was Diogo Jota – a modest, humble family man who endeared himself to everyone around him, and to supporters of the clubs that he represented with distinction.
At this extremely sad time, our thoughts are with the family and friends of him and Andre, as well as their teammates who are trying to come to terms with such a heartbreaking loss.
