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“Diogo Jota: Forever our number 20”. Liverpool FC confirmed Friday, in a statement on their official platforms, that they will be retiring the number 20 jersey from all the club’s squads “in honour and memory” of Diogo Jota.
The Premier League club that the Portuguese footballer represented made the decision after “consulting his wife, Rute, and his family”. It will also cover the LFC Women and Academy teams.
The club said the initiative is “recognition of not only the immeasurable contribution our lad from Portugal made to the Reds’ on-pitch successes over the last five years, but also the profound personal impact he had on his teammates, colleagues and supporters and the everlasting connections he built with them.”
“What Jota meant – and continues to mean – to teammates, colleagues and supporters has been evident in the tributes that have followed since he and his brother, André, passed away,” the statement reads.
In the club’s words, 20 was “the number [Jota] wore with pride and distinction”, having led the team “to countless victories in the process”.
Remembering the man who, the statement said, “was not only an outstanding footballer” but also “an outstanding human being”, Liverpool FC also pledged to”stand alongside” Diogo’s family and his brother, André, who also lost his life in the early hours of 3 July.
Diogo Jota, 28, and André Silva, 25, died following a road accident in the province of Zamora in Spain.
According to preliminary data from the Guardia Civil investigation, wheel problems combined with speeding may have caused the Lamborghini Huracán they were both driving to crash, which was eventually consumed in a fire that resulted from the accident.
They were both pronounced dead at the scene.
André Silva was also a professional footballer and played for FC Penafiel, a club in the second division of Portuguese football.