Liverpool legend John Aldridge fought back tears when paying tribute to Diogo Jota on LFCTV
Liverpool legend John Aldridge pays an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota on LFCTV
Liverpool legend John Aldridge pays an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota on LFCTV
(Image: LFCTV)
Liverpool legend John Aldridge was left fighting back tears as he paid a touching tribute to Diogo Jota in an emotional interview on LFCTV. Jota was killed in a car crash, along with his brother, Andre Silva, last Thursday (July 3) after their vehicle veered off the road following a tyre blowout.
The pair had been travelling across Spain to catch a ferry in order for the Reds striker to return to England in time for pre-season.
The majority of the Liverpool squad travelled to Jota and Silva’s hometown of Gondomar as they were laid to rest over the weekend.
The club aired a free-to-view hour-long special tribute show in honour of the Portuguese at Anfield on Monday.
Aldridge had earlier laid a wreath among all the tributes at Anfield on behalf of the club’s former players, with the ECHO columnist also the chairman of their official association, Forever Reds.
And speaking to LFCTV afterwards, while looking on at the endless tributes from supporters, an emotional Aldridge was left fighting back the tears as he admitted he had been unable to think about little else since Jota's tragic passing.
“It is (devastation), yeah, it is. I’m still numb,” said Aldridge, who who was a member of the Liverpool side at Hillsborough in 1989. “You just can’t get your head around the enormity of what’s happened.
“From the former players, we’re absolutely smashed. We just can’t believe what’s happened to one of our players, who is a hero in many ways.
“Even us, we looked up to the team. The manner in which he passed away, you’re looking at his three kids, his wife, his mum and dad, it just rips your heart apart.
“People are coming to show their respects but counselling themselves as well because they feel they need to do something.
“It happened after Hillsborough. The pitch was a sea of red, if you remember, with flowers from all the other clubs as well. That was so poignant, so special under the circumstances.
“But this and that (points to the tributes), you come to see it. Phwoar. And that’s what supporters do, don’t they? Absolutely (the fanbase comes together). It shows you, doesn’t it?”
Aldridge continued: “You look at the future, more for his family at the moment. And what the lads are going through. My heart goes out to the lads, wow.
“When they get together, it is going to be a massive shock for all of them and I’m sure they will move on in time.
“But for the present moment in time, it is going to be really tough for them. It is (comprehensible that he won’t be there), yeah.
“He spoke so highly of Liverpool and his love of the city. The one thing that over the last three or four days… he has got a fantastic song that they sung, but you can’t get it out of your head.
“And it keeps coming back because the song is in your head all the time and you’re thinking about him nearly 24 hours a day because the song keeps coming back and you keep thinking…
“It’s an iconic song and that’s the respect these people and Liverpool fans all over the world have for him. Yeah, (his song will still be sung many times), absolutely, yeah. 100% (his memory will live one), 100%.”