Phil Thompson says Liverpool's iconic You'll Never Walk Alone song will take on a new meaning following the deaths of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.
The brother tragically passed away last week in a catastrophic car crash in northern Spain. Liverpool, a club experienced with tragedy and overcoming adversity, is struggling to come to terms with the passing of a fan favorite.
Supporters have flocked to Anfield in recent days to sign the book of condolence, leave mementos outside the ground and the mourn the untimely and cruel passing of a 28-year-old husband and father. Liverpool players and fans have vowed to always support Jota's family, a sentiment shared by former captain Thompson.
"For one of the players, and somebody so young, You’ll Never Walk Alone, the words are [meaningful], you’re quite right," the ex-defender said on LFCTV's free-to-air show in commemoration of Jota.
"We always think of it as our anthem, something we behold to and we sing before a football game, but the words mean so much more.
"We attribute them to Hillsborough. I went to nine funerals and You’ll Never Walk Alone… it sticks in your mind. But you search even further and you think what it means, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and it’s so much.
"For Diogo and Andre, it is a fitting tribute when you hear that song being sung for them and it is to show we still care."
A wreath laid by former Liverpool player John Aldridge in tribute to Diogo Jota outside Anfield this afternoon
Tributes continue to pour in at Anfield. (Image: Iain Watts, Liverpool ECHO)
Thompson powerfully called for the players to feel comfortable in expressing their emotion at the death of a teammate and friend.
"It will be difficult going back into that dressing room because it’ll be ‘that’s where Diogo sat’," he said. "It will all come back and they have to be there for each other at any given moment and they have to go on. This has to be portrayed to the boys, there is no problem feeling emotional or grief. If you want to shed a tear, we’re there.
"He was a great friend and people will think of footballers who are paid so handsomely… they’re like a bunch of lads, they’re like a bunch of lads in that dressing room and he was one of them."
The coffin carrying Diogo Jota
Jota was buried alongside his brother on Saturday (Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Jota's chant has become omnipresent throughout the recent tributes, so much so that John Aldridge admitted he can't stop replaying it in his head.
For Thompson, he feels it will provide some small token of support for Jota's grieving family.
"Having your own song… and people take to that. You imagine his family back home in Portugal feel that love and it will come across with every time they [the fans] sing that song.
"These people, for Diogo to feel that love and have that bestowed upon him, with his song, it is great. Diogo, for the way he played the game, absolutely deserved his."