Conor Coady has paid tribute to former team-mate Diogo Jota
Conor Coady and Diogo Jota during the UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round Second Leg between Wolverhampton Wanderers and FC Pyunik at Molineux on August 15, 2019 i
(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Former Everton and Liverpool defender Conor Coady has paid a heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota. The 28-year-old 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.
Jota and Silva were laid to rest on Saturday (July 5) in their hometown of Gondomar, with the majority of the Liverpool squad travelling to Portugal to attend their team-mate’s funeral. Many of Jota’s former team-mates and friends also attended the service.
Coady played with the forward for three seasons at Wolverhampton Wanderers, and in a moving tribute, he said: "I think we'll all remember where we were, but it goes bigger than football what we're all feeling now.
"This has hit everybody hard. And it will hit everybody hard for a long, long time because Diogo was a fantastic human being, an amazing friend, an amazing husband, an amazing father and an absolutely incredible footballer for all the clubs he has played for.
"He was an unbelievable person. This is celebrating an incredible human being. A human being who should never have left us this early and this [early] into an amazing career."
Jota joined Wolves from Spanish side Atletico Madrid at the age of 20 in 2017, initially on loan, and he went on to play a key role in their promotion to the Premier League.
"You could see it in his first session - that tenacity and the will to win was like no other," Coady told BBC Sport.
"He was the heart and soul of the dressing room. He had a quiet way of going about himself. But you knew you could go to him about anything. For me as a captain, it was an honour and a dream to play with him.
"He was born to play in the Premier League but Wolves were in the Championship. I used to always tell young people they need to learn from players like Diogo and Ruben, who were brave enough to step into the Championship to help a club who were struggling at that time.
"He was brave enough to bring his childhood sweetheart to Wolverhampton and really buy into the culture of England. He was such an example for everybody.
"I absolutely loved him. As a captain, he was a dream to work with. But it was a pleasure to call him a friend."
After three successful years in the Midlands, Jota moved to Liverpool for £41million, where he went on to win the Premier League.
"We were gutted we were losing him because he was that good," Coady said when reflecting on Jota’s departure from Molineux.
"But at the same time, you gave him a big hug and you went: 'You know what mate, you deserve it more than anyone. Go and enjoy yourself. Go and make a name for yourself at one of the biggest clubs because you can certainly do that.' And he has done that for a number of years."