Jota, aged 28, sadly passed away along with his 25-year-old brother, Andre Silva, in a devastating car accident that occurred early on Thursday, July 3.
The Portuguese star was en route to Santander, Spain, intending to catch a ferry back to Merseyside in preparation for Liverpool’s pre-season training. ..Continue Reading
News of the incident sent shockwaves through both the football world and the broader public.
Jota had recently celebrated winning his first Premier League title with Liverpool, lifted the Nations League trophy with Portugal, and tied the knot with his longtime partner Rute just two weeks before the accident.
Among those deeply affected by the loss was fellow countryman and former manager of Chelsea and Manchester United, Jose Mourinho.
During an appearance on the Portuguese TV show Futebol Total on Channel 11, the 62-year-old coach became visibly emotional while discussing Jota’s passing.
Mourinho began by saying: “I greeted Jota twice. Once when we played Tottenham-Wolverhampton, and again at one of the Federation’s ‘Galas das Quinas’. Although I didn’t know him, I know him so well… his agent is the same as mine. Image rights, managers…
“My new collaborator, Antonio Dias, worked with him at Wolverhampton for a number of years. In other words, I know him well without ever having met him.
“Everyone spoke of that boy with love. He was the player, the team player, the boy, the family man, the way he interacted with the organisation.”
Mourinho added: “He must have been a really fantastic boy. I keep saying that I hope one day, but only in 40 or 50 years’ time, I’ll realise why these things happen. It’s hard to understand.”
The Fenerbahce manager was among the countless sporting figures who paid tribute to Jota after the announcement of his death.
He previously told Sky Sports: “When people leave this world, normally we all say, ‘Such a nice guy’. Diogo was really a nice guy.
“People in Liverpool know what I’m saying is true. He is a kid who nothing was easy for him, he had to fight to arrive where he arrived. Three kids without a dad, a young woman without her husband, the parents lose both sons… it’s crazy.
“It happened with me many, many years ago when I was working at Porto with Mr [Bobby] Robson. One of our boys, a loved boy, died in a car crash.
“Instead of the boys suffering alone it was like the group suffered together and trying to fight for his memory. It was a boy, Rui Filipe, and we were champions, I think, for him.
“In Liverpool they’re going to suffer together. The club is a fantastic club. I think they are deciding to take away the shirt number 20. At Anfield, he will always be part of the family and maybe they lose a player but maybe they win even more soul than what they have.”
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