Diogo Jota death prompts outpouring of grief from Liverpool fans
Lifelong fan John Barlow from Leyland in Lancashire, a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, said he was "absolutely devastated" when the news broke.
Mr Barrow said: "I had to stop what I'm doing at work and drive in."I come every match and he was like one of us. He had a bit of something about him, like a proper old Liverpool player, like the players we were brought up with."He had a fight in him and he came back from things and he was tough."He said he was "just heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken".
'We will miss you so much': Klopp leads tributes to Diogo Jota after he dies in car crash
Andrea Molyneux, who went to the stadium with herdaughters Isabella and Lily Costello, described their "utter devastation". "I can't even comprehend the grief that the family are going through," Ms Molyneux said."He was just such a young man and life can be taken away from you in such a short time. "He had everything. Everything."The Portugal international had recently married his partner, Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three young children.
Another fan told the BBC he would remember Jota with "a smile on his face, scoring goals for Liverpool". "But in a time like this, football pales into insignificance," he added. "He's left a wife and three children behind, his brother's passed away with him and his poor parents have lost two children. "I mean, he'll forever be remembered as a great Red for us. But when something like this happens, football doesn't matter anymore."
Writing on social media, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who was in charge at Anfield when Jota was signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020, said he was heartbroken."This is a moment where I struggle!" he wrote."There must be a bigger purpose, but I can't see it."Earlier Liverpool FC said it was "devastated" by the loss of the player and his brother. The club described the player's death as "an unimaginable loss".
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
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