James Milner has changed his shirt number at Brighton, in a touching tribute to his late ex-Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota.
Jota and his brother André Silva were tragically killed in a car crash in Spain in late June. Jota was 28 and Silva 25.
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An outpouring of grief from the football world followed, and Liverpool confirmed that they would permanently retire Jota's number 20 jersey in memory of their Portuguese forward.
Milner, a former teammate of Jota's at Liverpool, has switched to wearing the number 20 at Brighton for the upcoming season, in a touching gesture.
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James Milner takes number 20 in memory of Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota Liverpool
Tributes for Diogo Jota seen outside Anfield (Photo: Shutterstock)
On Friday, Brighton announced their shirt numbers for the upcoming Premier League season.
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Notable changes included Jan Paul van Hecke taking the number 6 and Carlos Baleba moving to number 17.
With Baleba's number 20 now freed up, Milner has moved to take it, in a mark of respect to his late teammate.
"Once I heard Carlos was looking to change his number and 20 was available, I wanted to do it as a mark of respect and pay tribute to Diogo Jota," Milner told Brighton's social media team.
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He 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.
It's a poignant gesture, and marks the impact that Diogo Jota had on his teammates at Liverpool.
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There is no doubt that the memory of Jota will linger with the Liverpool squad throughout the upcoming campaign, and with everyone who played alongside the forward for Wolves and Portugal.
His memory will live on through the likes of James Milner and his former Liverpool teammates.
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