Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves broke down in tears during an emotional silence held for Diogo Jota, who tragically died on Thursday.
Neves was named in the starting line-up for Al-Hilal's clash against Fluminense at the FIFA Club World Cup, in the opening quarter-final match. Joao Cancelo also started, but both players were visibly emotional as they attempted to focus on soccer while dealing with grief.
Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, died on Thursday in a car accident after the Lamborghini they were driving suffered a burst tire and swerved off the road. Jota was traveling back to the UK and was due to report to preseason training next week, ahead of his sixth season as a Liverpool player.
The tragedy has shocked the sports world, as Jota was 28 and entering the prime of his soccer career. The forward was an extremely popular athlete, who was adored by his Liverpool and Portugal teammates.
Jota celebrated his first Premier League title with Liverpool on May 25, and just two weeks later he lifted the UEFA Nations League for the second time with Portugal. Al-Hilal head coach Simone Inzhagi explained on Thursday that the news was extremely difficult to take for Neves and Cancelo.
"We all know it's a very sad day because of what happened to Diogo and André," Inzaghi said. "These things should never happen. We're all aware of the tragedy.
"We have two Portugal players Rúben Neves and João Cancelo who were friends to them. Today has been a very difficult day for all of us. We tried to work in the same way but the atmosphere was different. It's a very, very sad tragedy."
Jota and Cancelo were international teammates for six years, and they shared five seasons together in the Premier League. While Jota and Cancelo played for rival English teams, they shared a friendly off-field relationship.
The friendship between Jota and Neves was much deeper. After meeting in the youth team ranks internationally, Jota and Neves became domestic teammates for four straight seasons.
Jota joined FC Porto on loan for the 2016-17 season and shared the stage with Neves, before both players moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the same transfer window. Jota and Neves achieved promotion together with Wolves, and enjoyed two seasons together in the Premier League.
Liverpool then signed Jota in a deal worth $56 million on Sept. 19, 2020, but Neves stayed at Wolves for three more seasons until he departed for Al-Hilal. Jota was one of Neves' closest friends in soccer, and he wrote an emotional tribute on Thursday.
More to follow...