Liverpool players have arrived back at Melwood for the first day of pre-season following the death of team-mate Diogo Jota in a car crash last Thursday
10:06, 08 Jul 2025Updated 10:07, 08 Jul 2025
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah returned to pre-season training on Tuesday(Image: PA)
Liverpool players have returned to Melwood for the first time since Diogo Jota’s death in a car crash last week.
Arne Slot’s side were originally set to begin returning for pre-season on Friday with a larger group on Monday, but the tragic death of Jota postponed those plans. The 28-year-old was killed in a car crash alongside his brother Andre Silva on Thursday as they travelled across Spain to catch a ferry to return to England.
Most of Liverpool’s first-team squad attended the funeral on Saturday in the small Portuguese town of Gondomor, alongside a delegation of senior club officials and former team-mates who had visited the player's wake on Friday evening.
Liverpool’s delayed return is now underway as players, including defenders Andy Robertson and Conor Bradley and talisman Mohamed Salah, were seen returning to the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday morning.
The Reds' opening friendly of the summer is currently slated for Sunday, July 13, against Preston North End at Deepdale. However, a decision on whether the match will go ahead has not yet been reached.
Andy Robertson
Liverpool players have returned to Melwood(Image: PA)
Article continues below
A final decision will only be made once the team have returned to training together and after all players and staff have been consulted, as they continue to grieve the loss of their dear friend and teammate.
Preston are said to be preparing for the match to go ahead, which would be their first home friendly of the summer. The Championship team will remain in contact with the Premier League champions and will leave the decision on the game to Liverpool and their players.
The Lilywhites are also said to have prepared their own tributes to honour Jota at the game.
PORTO, PORTUGAL - JULY 05: Liverpool's Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk (L) and Liverpool's Scottish defender Andy Robertson (R) arrive for the funeral of Liverpool's Portuguese forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in Gondomar, on the outskirts of Porto, on July 5, 2025. Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother died in a car crash in Spain on July 3, 2025, sparking widespread grief just after the Portugal star had got married. (Photo by Alex Juarez/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Liverpool players attended Diogo Jota's funeral(Image: Anadolu, Anadolu via Getty Images)
Don't miss a thing with football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to breaking stories, get it all in your email inbox.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply click on this link, then provide your email address and that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top football stories.
You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, right here
ITV are set to broadcast the match, if it is played. The decision to television the fixture was made before Jota’s tragic passing and is said to be purely an unfortunate coincidence as the public interest and meaning behind the fixture grows.
Article continues below
Jota's funeral was held at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar catholic church on Saturday morning. Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Darwin Nunez, Ryan Gravenberch, Federico Chiesa and manager Arne Slot were among those to attend.
While the Portuguese’s former Liverpool team-mates Caoimhin Kelleher, Jordan Henderson and James Milner were also present.