James Milner will wear the No.20 shirt at Brighton this season in memory of Diogo Jota.
James Milner and Diogo Jota celebrate a goal for Liverpool.
James Milner and Diogo Jota celebrate a goal for Liverpool. (Image: Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
James Milner will wear the No.20 shirt for Brighton & Hove Albion this season as a tribute to his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota. Jota, 28, died in a car crash alongside his brother Andre Silva, 25, in northern Spain on July 3 as the pair made their way to Santander to board a ferry back to England.
Following Jota's death, Liverpool made the decision to retire their No.20 shirt. He wore that for five seasons after signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2020.
Milner, meanwhile, has now decided to change his squad number from No.6 to No.20 for the 2025/26 season as a tribute to his former Anfield team-mate - as the footballing world continues to mourn.
Explaining the decision, Milner, 39, said: "Once I heard that Carlos (Baleba) was looking to change his number and No.20 was available, I wanted to do it as a mark of respect and, obviously, pay tribute to Diogo Jota - who was an amazing player who I was fortunate to play with and a great friend as well.
"It will be a great honour to wear his number in the Premier League this year."
Last month, Milner was one of several old Liverpool players, including Jordan Henderson, who joined the current squad in Gondomar, Portugal, to attend Jota's funeral.
Posting on Instagram hours after Jota's passing, Milner wrote: "Devastated for the loss of Diogo and Andre.
"[I] Absolutely loved sharing a dressing room with him, having so many laughs together, constantly winding each other up with our stubborn nature and truly marvelling at the stuff he did on the football pitch.
"All my thoughts, love and support goes to his family, friends and the Liverpool family."Rest In Peace, Jots. Love ya mate. YNWA."