Liverpool squad 'devastated' by loss of Diogo Jota
London (AFP) Mohamed Salah said the death of Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota in a car crash had left him "frightened" to return to the club as the Premier League champions postponed the return of some players for pre-season training.The Portugal forward and his younger brother Andre Silva, died in the early hours of Thursday after their car veered off a motorway in Spain and burst into flames.Mourners gathered at a wake in Portugal on Friday ahead of the brothers' funeral on Saturday.Jota's Liverpool teammates have spoken of their struggle to comprehend his death, with captain Virgil van Dijk writing on Instagram that he was "absolutely devastated and in total disbelief".Liverpool manager Arne Slot said everyone associated with the club owed it to Jota to "stand together and be there for one another".Egypt international Salah paid tribute to Jota on Friday. "I am truly lost for words," last season's Premier League top-scorer posted on Instagram. "Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. "Teammates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back. "My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten."Jota had married his partner Rute Cardoso on June 22, posting a video of their wedding on Instagram just hours before the accident. They had three children.The first group of Slot's Liverpool squad were scheduled to be at the club's training complex on Friday for the opening round of physical tests after their post-season break.But their return has reportedly been pushed back until Monday.Liverpool's first pre-season match is against Preston on July 13.The club have opened a book of condolence and lowered flags to half-mast.
Fans have left flowers, scarves and shirts at a makeshift shrine outside Anfield and there are similar scenes at Wolves' Molineux Stadium, where Jota played previously.
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Dubai Eye
8 hours ago
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Prime Minister Luis Montenegro joined members of Diogo Jota's family for a private wake on Friday in the Liverpool footballer's hometown in northern Portugal following his death alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain. Jota's longtime agent Jorge Mendes was also seen joining the family, including wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier. Montenegro spent almost half an hour with the family before leaving without making a statement. A convoy of hearses carrying the bodies left for Gondomar near Porto on Thursday evening from the morgue of Puebla de Sanabria, near where the Lamborghini the brothers were traveling in had veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst. A public wake is expected to take place at a chapel in Gondomar from 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) and a funeral on Saturday at a church nearby at 10:00 am local time, the office of Gondomar's mayor said. The death of Jota at the age of 28 has jolted the world of football, with messages of homage pouring in from former teammates, clubs, national leaders and fans. Outside Liverpool's Anfield stadium fans left flowers, scarves and hand-written notes, many from children. Football clubs including Paris St Germain, who have several Portuguese internationals in their squad, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid observed a moment of silence during training for their matches in the Club World Cup taking place in the United States. MOURNING HIS FRIEND Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on Thursday that forward Pedro Neto was weighing whether to play in Friday's quarter-final against Palmeiras, as the Portuguese international mourns the tragic death of his close friend. Jota's manager at Liverpool, Arne Slot, said in a statement on Thursday that his thoughts were with his family. "My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone," Slot said. "For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special." In Gondomar, a town of about 160,000 people in the Porto metropolitan area that is known for artisanal gold and filigree jewellery, residents were struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of a local hero. At the Diogo Jota Academy in Gondomar – whose motto is "It's not important where we come from, but where we are going" – people placed candles, flowers and scarves and shirts from the various clubs he played for and from the Portuguese national team, in tribute to the player. Jota opened the academy in 2022 for children aged 6-9 at the Gondomar Football Club where he played for 10 years as a child. It was at Gondomar's high school that he met his wife. They began dating aged 15 when in the same class and she became a pillar in his life. When they were 19, they moved to Madrid together, when Jota was transferred from the small Portuguese club Paços de Ferreira to Atletico de Madrid. "Besides being his girlfriend and best friend, I'm his number one fan," Cardoso told the newspaper 'A Bola' at the time. Jota was making his way back to Liverpool by car after he was told he should avoid plane travel for up to six weeks following lung surgery to address a fractured rib, his physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves told broadcaster Now late on Thursday. Goncalves said Jota was recovering well from the pneumothorax surgery and that he had planned to take a ferry to the UK from Spain.
Al Etihad
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Liverpool squad 'devastated' by loss of Diogo Jota
4 July 2025 16:39 London (AFP) Mohamed Salah said the death of Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota in a car crash had left him "frightened" to return to the club as the Premier League champions postponed the return of some players for pre-season Portugal forward and his younger brother Andre Silva, died in the early hours of Thursday after their car veered off a motorway in Spain and burst into gathered at a wake in Portugal on Friday ahead of the brothers' funeral on Liverpool teammates have spoken of their struggle to comprehend his death, with captain Virgil van Dijk writing on Instagram that he was "absolutely devastated and in total disbelief".Liverpool manager Arne Slot said everyone associated with the club owed it to Jota to "stand together and be there for one another".Egypt international Salah paid tribute to Jota on Friday. "I am truly lost for words," last season's Premier League top-scorer posted on Instagram. "Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. "Teammates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back. "My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten."Jota had married his partner Rute Cardoso on June 22, posting a video of their wedding on Instagram just hours before the accident. They had three first group of Slot's Liverpool squad were scheduled to be at the club's training complex on Friday for the opening round of physical tests after their post-season their return has reportedly been pushed back until first pre-season match is against Preston on July club have opened a book of condolence and lowered flags to half-mast. Fans have left flowers, scarves and shirts at a makeshift shrine outside Anfield and there are similar scenes at Wolves' Molineux Stadium, where Jota played previously.
Khaleej Times
14 hours ago
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Diogo Jota car crash: Funeral of Liverpool star to be held on July 5
The funeral of Portuguese and Liverpool ace Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash in Spain, will be held on Saturday, July 5, media reports have said. According to ESPN, the funeral will take place at 10am (1pm UAE time) in his home town of Gondomar, east of Porto, Portugal. The funeral of his brother, who too was in the car, will be held along with Jota. The funeral service will be held at the Matriz de Gondomar church, ESPN said. A wake will take place from 4pm (7pm UAE time) on Friday. Earlier, the mortal remains of Jota and Andre Silva had arrived in Gondomar in the early hours of Friday morning. The football world was left in shock following the tragedy and stars and clubs mourned the passing of the 28-year-old. The Official Liverpool Supporters Club Dubai (OLSC Dubai) also paid tribute to the striker, who helped the Anfield club win a record-equalling 20th English Premier League crown.
