Oh, his name is Diogo...
Death in football is inevitable, just like in any other walk of life. There will always come the dreaded moment when fans must say goodbye to a player they love dearly.
Farewells are common, normal even. A lot of the time, farewells are said after a player’s long and rewarding career, followed by many years spent with their loved ones around them. But sometimes, players are snatched away with such force that it strikes you so hard you can physically feel it.
Diogo Jota’s death is not something we could have ever prepared for. The shattering ache of his passing, alongside brother André Silva, will linger long and heavy. These farewells couldn’t be further from normal.
Diogo Jota and Andre Silva deaths felt by all
Movement in football is also inevitable - it rarely pauses or rests. That is the sport millions of us have become captured by, in all its fiery relentlessness. As players, staff, fans and media, we never stop chasing the ever-sprinting goliath that is The Beautiful Game.
Few moments compared to its vast history have led football to hold its breath, but on Thursday, July 3rd 2025, it took a rare pause. The news broke that two footballing sons of Gondomar had been snatched away.
The brothers, headed for a ferry terminal in Spain to travel back to Liverpool after Jota was deemed unfit to fly, passed away in a devastating car accident. Football paused as colours and crests faded into background noise while the world mourned together.
Holding their own grief as lovers of the game, football fans have also tried to spiritually shoulder some of the unfathomable agony felt by those closest to the brothers, who leave behind a family torn completely apart.
Jota died less than two weeks after marrying his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, who had given birth to their third child together just seven months ago. His parents will lay to rest their only sons, both taken away so cruelly on the same night.
Diogo Jota: A Liverpool icon immortalised
There is no questioning the impact Jota had on Liverpool as a club and city. Fans adored him, rival supporters respected him, and his Anfield family held him in the highest regard. You only have to read through the emotional tributes paid by his teammates to see how loved he was.
Jota became a real secret weapon for Liverpool. An undeniable talent who oozed class and ability, and yet he was somehow always so cool with it, subtle almost. Among the big dogs of Liverpool’s Premier League history, Jota holds an edge many probably wouldn’t have expected.
As analysed by Andrew Beasley, 39 Liverpool players have recorded at least 50 non-penalty efforts on target in the Premier League era. Jota converted more than anyone else. The lad from Portugal quietly made himself one of the club’s most clinical attacking figures.
Nifty with his movement and ambidextrously-confident, Jota was a complete striker who knew how to utilise both feet and his head. While he may not have always been a starting option, he could get the job done regardless of how many minutes he was given.
So often was he the difference for Liverpool, just as he was with what would be the final goal of his life. Jota’s strike against Everton at Anfield earned the Reds the Merseyside Derby bragging rights, leading them further towards the Premier League title.
Without knowing, he had slotted home his last ever goal, soaking up the moment in front of the Kop as his song rang out from the stands. A song now encased in Liverpool history — one that was once bellowed out, arms high in the sky, heads back in jubilation. Now, one of sorrow and grief, unlikely to delivered without a lump in the throat.
He wears the number 20, he will take us to victory
Diogo Jota holds the Premier League trophy aloft in front of the Kop.placeholder image
Diogo Jota holds the Premier League trophy aloft in front of the Kop. | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Jota was so much more than his talent on the pitch. His infectious personality was a comfort to his teammates and his work and efforts with the fans made him such a special member the team. More than anything else, he was a devoted family man.
Earlier this year, Jamie Carragher said he believed Jota was Liverpool’s best finisher of the Premier League era. He died with such a legacy left behind, as well as his heartbroken family.
Jota left this world having been on top of it — welcoming his third child, winning the Premier League with Liverpool, winning the Nations League with Portugal, marrying the love of his life, and looking ahead to what’s next.
In the peak of his career, Jota’s story ends at just 28 years of age. While football lay still for a moment, Liverpool will ensure his time remains frozen in history forever. The club have promised to ‘immortalise’ their No.20 ‘for his contributions as part of Liverpool’s 2024-25 title-winners – the club’s 20th – with his trademark shimmy and strike in front of the Kop to seal victory in April’s Merseyside derby a poignant last goal of his life.’
While no decision to retire his jersey has been confirmed, it cannot be ruled out.
After joining in 2020, wearing 20, and winning number 20, that number will forever belong to Diogo Jota. Pinned in time with nothing but the highest memories, he will forever be honoured in Liverpool history, remembered for taking them to victory in what nobody could have expected to be his final ever season.
May his song live on forever through the generations of Liverpool fans to come, who will be smiling and hoping he’s playing alongside his brother again in a Golden Sky. You’ll Never Walk Alone, Diogo.
Oh, he wears the Number 20. He will take us to victory.
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