𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Liverpool star Mo Salah has said he is “lost for words” in a moving tribute after Diogo Jota was killed in a tragic car crash on Thursday.

Salah said Jota would “never be forgotten” and it would be difficult to accept the Liverpool forward would not be there when he returned to Liverpool.

“Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break,” Salah said.

“Team mates 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.”

Liverpool FC remain focused on responding to the tragedy of Diogo Jota’s death in a car crash but say the forward will be “honoured with the respect and affection he so richly deserves”.

The club’s past and present sporting directors, Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, said in a joint statement that tributes would be “meaningful and inclusive of supporters”.

In a joint statement they said: “In the coming days, we as a club will look to honour our beloved number 20 with the respect and affection he so richly deserves.

“We will strive to make these tributes meaningful and inclusive of our supporters, to whom Diogo meant so much.

“For now, we express a love that is filled with deep sorrow and pain. We have lost someone truly irreplaceable.

“In such heartbreaking circumstances, it is our responsibility to acknowledge the collective grief we are experiencing, to pay tribute to our Diogo, and to offer unwavering support to his family who remain our absolute priority at this time.

“Of course, we – his Liverpool family – are also struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

“As his team-mates, friends and colleagues, we are consumed by shock and sorrow. We know our supporters, his national team, former clubs and teammates and the wider football community share in this grief.

“This is a tragedy that transcends Liverpool Football Club.”

From the darkness, Portugal were faced with an impossible task: to bring some light into the world after the heartbreaking tragedy of losing one of their own.

The death of Diogo Jota, killed in a car crash with his brother Andre Silva in the early hours of Thursday morning, had shaken the Portugal team when they woke up on the morning of their opening match of Euro 2025 against Spain. Afterwards, a 5-0 defeat to the world champions barely scratches the surface in the face of such a loss.

“Today is a sad day,” the Portugal head coach Francisco Neto said. “To lose two lives, so young, of course it is hard. We are thinking of the family.”

Writes Jamie Braidwood in Bern:

Jamie Carragher has said he is “in a state of shock” after Diogo Jota’s death.

Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool player said: “Just in a state of shock really. I think, not just with anyone associated with Liverpool but football in general. It’s a time when we’ll come together as football fans. I just can’t believe the news today.

“It’s so sad for everybody in involved but especially his family, his wife and the three children they’ve got. It’s devastating for all involved.

“I don’t know the current players particularly well so won’t pretend to know Diogo. He lived close but kept himself to himself. He came across, probably, not in the typical way people describe Premier League footballers. He seemed humble, a real family man. “He did his business on the pitch and was quiet and humble off the pitch. A great guy and a great footballer.

“It’s really difficult to find the words to say about him. More importantly right now it’s not about the football or Liverpool, it’s about his family and what they’re going through.”

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said the country had lost “one of its heroes”.

“We feel the family’s pain and, in this tragedy, we question life in general,” he said in a video released by the Portuguese Football Federation.

“We have created a family in the national team that goes far beyond football and Diogo is an important part of that – on and off the field.

“Portugal will miss one of its heroes.”