Jose Mourinho has paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota after the Liverpool star’s tragic death at the age of 28.
The former Manchester United boss described his fellow Portuguese as a ‘really nice guy’ and said Liverpool will now ‘suffer together’ as they mourn one of their own.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva, 26, died in a car crash in northern Spain early on Thursday morning after a tyre on Jota’s Lamborghini is believed to have blown out while overtaking.
The vehicle rolled and burst into flames, with emergency services unable to save the pair.
Their deaths have sent shockwaves through the football world, with tributes pouring in from figures including Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who described the forward as ‘very special’.
Now, Mourinho has added his voice to the tributes, recalling his own experience of losing a young player in a car crash while working at Porto and expressing hope that Jota’s memory will give Liverpool ‘even more soul’ as a club.
Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota died on Thursday morning at the age of 28
Jose Mourinho paid tribute to Jota on Friday, telling Sky Sports: ‘Diogo was really a nice guy’
Speaking to Sky Sports, Mourinho — who is now in charge of Fenerbahce in Turkey — said: ‘When people leave this world, normally we all say ‘such a nice guy’. Diogo was really a nice guy.
‘He had my agent, so of course I knew a lot about him. And 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’s difficult to understand. Maybe one day we will understand but not now.
‘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.’
Liverpool have indicated that Jota’s No 20 shirt will be ‘rightly immortalised’ following his death, with discussions taking place over formally retiring a squad number for the first time in the club’s history.
Jota — who scored 65 goals in 182 games for Liverpool after joining from Wolves in 2020 — had only just married his childhood sweetheart Rute, the mother of their three children, less than two weeks before the crash.
The Portuguese forward, capped 49 times by his country, was on his way back to Merseyside for pre-season training, having been advised to travel by road following recent lung surgery.
Liverpool are said to be considering retiring the club’s No 20 shirt out of respect for Jota
Jota died less than two weeks after marrying his wife Rute, the mother of his three children
A vigil for Jota was held on Friday at the Chapel of Resurrection in Gondomar, near Porto, ahead of the funeral on Saturday morning.
Outside Anfield, flowers and scarves have been laid in tribute, with fans in tears as they mourn one of their champions.
Liverpool manager Slot said of Jota: ‘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. Hard work, desire, commitment, great quality, goals. The essence of what a Liverpool player should be.
‘The last time we spoke, I congratulated Diogo on winning the Nations League and wished him luck for his forthcoming wedding. In many ways, it was a dream summer for Diogo and his family, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that it should end like this.
‘My condolences go to Diogo’s wife, Rute, their three beautiful children and to the parents of Diogo and Andre Silva. When the time is right, we will celebrate Diogo Jota, we will remember his goals and we will sing his song.
‘For the time being, we will remember him as a unique human being and mourn his loss. He will never be forgotten.’
Liverpool boss Arne Slot said: ‘Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us’
Tributes to Jota pictured outside Anfield on Friday, including hundreds of bunches of flowers
Ronaldo, Jota’s Portugal team-mate, also expressed his devastation at the tragedy, writing: ‘It doesn’t make sense. Just now we were together in the national team, just now you had gotten married.
‘To your family, your wife, and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them.
‘Rest in Peace, Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you.’
Jota’s final Instagram post just hours before the crash showed footage of his wedding to Rute, with the couple describing it as a day they would ‘never forget’.
