The Chelsea pair have reacted to the tragic death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota.
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has sent a heartfelt tribute to the family of Diogo Jota after the Liverpool star’s tragic death.
Cucurella has been speaking to the media ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Palmeiras in the Club World Cup semi-final. The squad held a period of silence before training to pay respect to Jota and his brother.
Curcurella told supporters: “We want to send all our love and support to Diogo Jota's family. His wife, his kids, it is a bad moment and we will send all of our love and support from me and all of the Chelsea squad and club. In this moment, football is not the most important thing and we want to show our respect.
“I saw this in the morning when I woke up. It's a difficult moment because anything can happen to all of us in any moment. You start to think that sometimes you don't feel good for one day or don't give 100 per cent or say this day is s*** but then when things happen, we need to believe every day is important and we need to be happy and appreciate every day.”
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto may not play against Palmeiras after being given compassionate leave. Neto played with Jota at Wolverhampton Wanderers and for the Portugal national team. They were close friends and won the Nations League with Portugal in June.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said: “It's a very sad day. I struggle to find words because it's very difficult. You know, the feeling that you are, that you feel a little bit, you know, helpless in this kind of situation, and the only thing I can say, you know, all my love to, you know, his family, the people that in this moment, it's a big tragedy for them. And then in terms of Pedro, he's very sad, probably more than sad, but we are also close to Pedro to support him in this moment.
“It's completely Pedro's decision. I had a chat this morning with Pedro. We support him. Any decision he will take is the correct one, and we are going to support him in any case. So it doesn't matter if we'll be in the pitch or not. Tomorrow, we'll see how he is feeling tomorrow. But in any case, we're gonna support him.”
Jota joined Liverpool in September 2020 for a fee of £45 million. He was a highly popular figure and recorded 65 goals and 22 assists in 182 appearances - winning four major trophies, including the Premier League last season.
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