Cristiano Ronaldo paid an emotional tribute to his former team-mate Diogo Jota after scoring for Portugal in a 5-0 win away to Armenia.
The World Cup qualifier was Portugal’s first game since the tragic death of Jota and his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain on July 3.
Liverpool forward Jota made 49 appearances for Portugal after making his debut in 2019 and scored 14 times.
He played alongside Ronaldo on 32 occasions for Portugal, with the pair combining for seven goals. They were both part of the Portugal squad that won the Nations League in June less than a month before Jota’s death.
After Joao Felix had given Portugal the lead against Armenia in the 10th minute, Ronaldo proceeded to score eleven minutes later.
Ronaldo dedicated the goal to Jota as he pointed towards the sky.
Cristiano Ronaldo paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota after scoring for Portugal
Ronaldo pointed to the sky after scoring in Portugal’s first game since Jota’s death
Jota and Ronaldo played together for Portugal 32 times and combined for seven goals
Joao Cancelo also paid tribute to Jota by performing his trademark PlayStation celebration
Joao Cancelo then made it 3-0 to Portugal, with Ronaldo later adding another goal before Joao Felix also got his second of the game.
Cancelo performed Jota’s trademark PlayStation celebration.
Ronaldo had been criticised after missing Jota’s funeral, which took place in Gondomar, Portugal, in July.
According to Portuguese outlet Record, Ronaldo may have opted not to attend the event due to sensitivities surrounding the death of his father, Jose Diniz Aveiro, who died in September 2005 – when Ronaldo was just 20 years old.
Ronaldo was shocked to hear of Jota’s passing but is said to have not made the journey as he did not wish for his presence to overshadow the importance of people paying their respects to Jota and his brother.
While the Al-Nassr forward received criticism from some quarters over his absence – he was publicly defended by his sister Katia on social media.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote: ‘When my father died, in addition to the pain of loss, we had to deal with a flood of cameras and curious onlookers at the cemetery and everywhere we went.
‘And attention was not what it is today in terms of access… At no time were we (the children) able to leave the chapel; it was only possible at the time of the burial, such was the commotion.
Ronaldo didn’t attend Jota’s funeral, which took place in Portugal in July
‘At the funeral, there were presidents, coaches of the national team at the time, such as Luís Filipe Scolari, etc. I don’t remember seeing any of them. And they certainly greeted me. The pain blinded me.
‘About pain/family and real support… You will never know what it means until you go through it. If someone sends me a message criticising anything my brother does, I will block it (completely ignore it), that is, they will only do it once.
‘It’s getting tiring. The fanaticism. The criticism for nothing, I repeat nothing… Sick society… We all have families.’
