Arsenal icon Thierry Henry and talisman Bukayo Saka are the latest prominent footballing names to issue heartfelt Diogo Jota messages. In the early hours of Thursday morning, the Liverpool star tragically passed away in a car accident.
Emergency services were called to the Spanish province of Zamora after a car lost control and crashed on the A52 and left the road before bursting into flames. It was later confirmed the occupants were Jota and his brother Andre Silva with Liverpool then releasing a statement.
“Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota,” the statement began on the club’s website.
“The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.
“Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre’s family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss.
“We will continue to provide them with our full support.”
Unsurprisingly, tributes have flooded in with Premier League clubs and players showing their support. Arsenal duo Mikel Merino and Declan Rice sent emotional messages on Thursday morning and now their club teammate Saka has also sent a tribute to Jota, via his Instagram story.
“RIP Diogo and Andre [dove emoji],” he said. “Such sad news. My prayers go out to their families and loved ones [hands together emoji.]”
During his time at Wolves and Liverpool, Jota faced off against Saka and Arsenal on several occasions with the response from the footballing community showing how loved he was.
Former players have also sent condolences with Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville two of the first pundits to send sincere messages. One of their colleagues and ex-Arsenal star Henry has also now shared his thoughts on the tragic death of Jota.
Reposting Liverpool’s update from Instagram, he simply wrote: “RIP. Condolences to the family and his loves ones [broken heart emoji].”
With the majority of people still coming to terms with such tragic news, UEFA have confirmed they will be a minutes silence before all women’s European championship games over the coming days. Club World Cup quarter-finalists Chelsea and Bayern Munich also paid their respects ahead of training in the United States.
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