Left-back says death did not influence decision to remain at Anfield
Although he had already decided to stay at Liverpool to fight for his place, Andy Robertson knows that the death of his friend and teammate Diogo Jota would have made it impossible for him to leave Anfield.
He wanted to help the club cope with the loss and that would have been difficult had he moved elsewhere, as was being speculated earlier this summer. The Scotland skipper’s future with Liverpool was in doubt when Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez joined in a £40 million deal.
A week later the shocking news from Spain emerged that Diogo and his brother Andre Silva had been killed in a car crash while en route to England from Portugal.
Scotland captain Andy Robertson speaks ahead of the match against Denmark.placeholder image
Scotland captain Andy Robertson speaks ahead of the match against Denmark. | PA
Robertson had attended Diogo’s wedding just 11 days earlier and while he was already committed to staying at Liverpool, where he is contracted until next summer, the ties have become even tighter amid the profound grief felt.
“It didn’t influence my decision,” he said. “The decision was already made before the tragedy but I knew in that moment that the club needed me.
“I know I am one of the leaders in the team and I have obviously been made vice-captain now. It’s going to take a lot this season. I know football was irrelevant but if you take the football out of it even as lads in the changing room we are all going to need help during the season. We’ve already had difficult moments in terms of playing for the first time in front of fans, having to attend your team-mate’s funeral which is absolutely madness to even say it, and everything else that followed after it.
‘It won’t get any easier’
“I know the leaders in that changing room have got a big job to do this season in terms of trying to help everyone as a club and even Diogo’s family through this massively difficult moment. It won’t get easier but maybe we can numb the pain a little bit as time goes on. It’s up to us leaders to try and guide us through that.”
Robertson was speaking in his role as Scotland skipper prior to the opening World Cup qualification clash against Denmark in Copenhagen. Portugal are also preparing to play for the first time since Jota’s death against Armenia and Hungary and held a special ceremony at the team’s HQ in Lisbon earlier this week attended by the player’s family. Jota had been set to win his 50th cap for his country in this international window.
Robertson acknowledged that everything, including the quest for a World Cup place, has been put into perspective by the death of one of his best friends. The left-back led the Liverpool contingent at the funeral in Gondomar, near Porto.
“It was the most difficult thing we’ll ever go through,” he said. “It was such a surprise, such a shock. It was devastating for his family, first and foremost, but also devastating for us as a group of lads.
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“Football? I don’t think anyone could care less about football. When things like that happen it puts life into perspective as to what’s important, like spending time with your family and spending time with your kids because you never know what’s around the corner.
“Like I say, it’s the toughest thing we’ll ever go through. Losing one of my closest mates, for me, was hugely difficult.
“It’s something we’ll probably never get over but it’s something we have to carry with us. We’ll carry the memories we have from our time with him. As long as we continue to do that, he’ll always be in our thoughts and he’ll always be in our hearts. That’s all we can do.”