Diogo Jota: Forever a champion

For vastly different reasons, the number 20 took on a special significance for Liverpool in 2025.

Firstly, in April, Liverpool sealed a record-equalling 20th English league title, drawing level with fierce rivals Manchester United in Arne Slot’s first season at the helm. Then, in July – the confetti from those joyous celebrations barely swept away – came the devastating news that one of that champion squad had suddenly and tragically passed away.

Diogo Jota, just 28 years old, a father of three and newly married, was killed in a road accident, alongside his younger brother Andre, on a motorway in northern Spain.

“That news broke my heart,” former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse tells FFT. “I loved the guy, as a man and a player. He was a sweet guy. It was so shocking.” Those sentiments were shared across football, with his former Reds manager Jurgen Klopp leading the tributes. “This is a moment where I struggle,” he wrote on Instagram.

“There must be a bigger purpose. But I can’t see it.” Compatriot and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo also expressed his devastation, while Liverpool team-mate Andy Robertson admitted he “will never get over it”. Countless others shared their own memories and condolences.

Jota wore the No.20 during a five-year spell at Anfield, which brought Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup glory. His 65 goals in 182 games, alongside an extraordinary work rate, were crucial in delivering those trophies, while Jota’s infectious personality helped inspire an iconic terrace chant roared by the Kop to the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival song Bad Moon Rising.

For Klopp, it had been a love at first sight. “He’s been on my list for two or three years,” said the German in 2020, after signing a forward who had been crucial in getting Wolves promoted two years earlier. He then helped the West Midlands side into the Europa League, where he scored incredible back-to-back hat-tricks against Besiktas and Espanyol. The first of those trebles came despite him only coming on as a 56th-minute substitute. It was little wonder that he became a Molineux legend.

“For Wolves, he proved not only that he could score goals, but that he was a real team player,” adds Cisse. “With the way Klopp set his team up – aggressive pressing, the forwards as the first line of defence – he was the perfect fit.”

Jota scored on his league debut for Liverpool, in a 3-1 victory over Arsenal. Arguably the standout performance of his maiden season at Anfield came a month later. “I remember that hat-trick he scored at Atalanta in the Champions League, when they won 5-0,” smiles former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey. “Three exquisite finishes. He was pretty much unplayable around that point. It seemed like he was scoring every time he touched the ball.”

In the 2021/22 campaign, Jota hit a career-high 21 goals as Klopp’s side claimed both domestic cups, and were just two games away from completing a historic Quadruple. “Jota’s finishing was at an unbelievable level,” says Danny Murphy. “Only sometimes when a player has gone and left do we focus on their strengths and what they were really good at. He had a phenomenal work ethic and that wonderful ability to compose himself in big moments. Only the top players can do that.”

Heskey agrees. “His technical ability and his ability to sniff out a chance were his biggest assets,” the ex-England man adds. “He wasn’t the biggest lad, but he always gave everything. He had that low centre of gravity where he could turn, get around defenders and score.”

Perhaps Jota’s most impressive skill, given his relatively slight 5ft 10in frame, was the number of headers he scored. Of his 63 Premier League goals, 10 were with his head. “He naturally knew the positions to be in, like Michael Owen,” Heskey explains. “Look at how many headers Michael scored, even though he wasn’t a big lad. It’s about sniffing out the opportunity, understanding where you need to be. I watched Michael beat players who were 6ft tall – his timing was spot on. Diogo had that same knack of timing his run and jump perfectly to beat players much bigger than him.

“He had a few injuries and was really missed whenever he was absent. For me, when he was fit, he was a guaranteed starter – especially as a striker, but he could play on the wing as well, couldn’t he? And as a No.10. He was pretty much a complete footballer.”

After the long period of mourning that followed the car accident that claimed Jota’s life, Liverpool fans planned one minute’s applause – after 20 minutes, of course – in their first game of the current season: August’s Community Shield clash against Crystal Palace. Some things are just meant to be. As the applause began, new Reds signing Jeremie Frimpong lofted a back-post cross that sailed over Dean Henderson and into the back of the net. One little slice of luck as the clock showed 20, one final assist from the heavens. There were plenty more spine-tingling moments while Jota was still playing.

“The memory that springs to mind is his goal against Everton last season,” recalls Murphy of a 1-0 win that kept the Reds on track for the title. “It was huge for Liverpool – off the back of defeat in the League Cup final and going out of the Champions League against PSG.

“Everton at home is always massive, but they needed to get back to winning ways, with some people starting to get worried, saying things had fallen off a cliff and players were tired. The game was tight and Everton were fighting for everything. Jota’s bit of composure and his finish gave everyone a sigh of relief. Liverpool got the win and went on to take the title. That moment sums him up as a player. Big moment, derby, Kop end. Who’s got that composure, that bit of magic? Diogo Jota did.”

That sort of magic earned him 49 caps for Portugal, too, in a career that began at Pacos de Ferreira, before a move to Atletico Madrid and a loan at Porto. Jota had been due to reach his half-century against Armenia in September.

After his final game for his country, he’d posed with the Nations League trophy inside Munich’s Allianz Arena following a shootout triumph against Spain. Two weeks earlier, he’d done the same with the Premier League trophy back at Anfield, his dream of becoming a champion of England fulfilled.

When Liverpool’s players returned for the next Premier League game at their famous old ground in August, without Jota alongside them, Mo Salah lingered in front of the Kop for some time after the final whistle, listening to Reds fans singing his friend’s name.

As Salah walked down the tunnel, wiping tears from his eyes, the singing continued. It hasn’t stopped since. “He’s a lad from Portugal, better than Figo, don’t you know. Oh, his name is Diogo.”