Liverpool will play in the Europa League next term for the first time in eight seasons - but Diogo Jota insists they will do their best to lift the trophy.
The Reds played in the Champions League in each of the last seven campaigns, winning the competition in 2019, and reaching the final in both 2018 and 2022.
A fifth-placed Premier League finish in 2022-23 brought that run to an end, but Jota told FFT exclusively that they will give the Europa League the respect it deserves.
“I played in the Europa League before with Wolves,” he said. “Although the fans are used to playing in the Champions League every single year and it will feel like a downgrade, it’s still a prestigious competition. We’ll give our best to win it.”
It should at least mean that they avoid Real Madrid, their Champions League conquerors in each of the past three seasons. “Well, they can somehow finish third in their group and still be in our way…” says Jota. “But since I came to Liverpool, I’ve always got knocked out by Real Madrid, so hopefully they’re not there.”
Read the full interview with Jota in the new issue of FourFourTwo, in shops NOW
Jota wears the new adidas X Speedportal boots, part of the Heatspawn Pack, which also includes the Predator and Copa boots, available to buy now HERE
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