Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva was an internatonal teammate of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, whose funeral was held on Saturday.
Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva attends the funeral of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva in Gondomar on Saturday
Bernardo Silva has paid an emotional tribute to international teammate and friend Diogo Jota after attending the Liverpool forward's funeral in Gondomar on Saturday.
Silva and Ruben Dias both attended the service in the home town of Jota and his brother Andre Silva. They died following a car crash in Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Family and friends were present at the service at the Igreja de Matriz on Saturday morning, including many of Jota's current and former Liverpool teammates, as well as colleagues from Portuguese national team.
Silva praised Jota's dedication to forge a successful career in football despite still playing for Gondomar when he was 16, with the attacker taking a different path to many of his peers to reach the top of the game.
The City midfielder also spoke of his memories of Jota as a person and said he would be remembered at every future get together for the Portuguese squad.
"I can't even imagine the pain of the family, of Rute [Jota's wife], of the children, of the parents. For Andre and for Jota," Silva told AVI.
"I must say a little about Jota, who was a great friend of all of us. His career, although not the most important, speaks for itself.
Ruben Dias attends Diogo Jota's funeral
Ruben Dias also attended the funeral in Gondomar
"He didn't train at any of the big teams and took the most difficult paths. His passion, will and determination allowed him to succeed in life and have a brilliant career.
"More important than that, as a person... the memories that remain... Jota will always be in our hearts.
"He will always be present at every breakfast, lunch, dinner, national team get-together, PlayStation or card game."
As well as Dias and Silva, Pep Lijnders also attended the funeral. City's new assistant coach was Jurgen Klopp's assistant manager and worked with Jota until Klopp and Lijnders left Anfield in the summer of 2024.
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