 "Jurgen Klopp pays tribute to Liverpool's late forward Diogo Jota. AFP")
The football world was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota. The Portuguese player, who immensely contributed to Liverpool’s league title win in 2024/25, had just gotten married to his longtime partner, Rute Cardoso. Everything seemed to be going perfect for the player, but life took an unfortunate turn on July 3, 2025, when his life was cut short at 28 in a car accident.
A moment’s silence was observed for Jota ahead of the start of the Community Shield Final match, which took place between Liverpool and Crystal Palace last week .
Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp hail late Diogo Jota
Liverpool manager Arne Slot and former boss Jurgen Klopp recently reflected on the late Diogo Jota’s impact. Talking about the late player, both managers hailed his achievements on both personal and professional fronts.
Speaking on JioHotstar, Arne Slot praised Diogo Jota’s achievements over the past year:
“He was a champion for his family, which is the most important thing. He was a champion for his country, winning the Nations League for a nation he loves [Portugal] and cares deeply about. And he was a champion for us by helping win the Premier League.”
Klopp, on the other hand, paid tribute to Jota by recalling the importance he had in the team.
“Diogo was an incredibly important player for us. Having him in the side changed the dynamics.” He told JioHotstar.
Slot expressed his admiration for Jota as both a player and a person:
“I think his parents and Rute [Jota’s wife – Rute Cardoso] can be extremely proud of the player and the person he was. He always stayed true to himself, and they should — and will — be very proud.”
Arne Slot on the Arsenal challenge
As the Premier League season is about to begin, Liverpool manager Arne Slot reflected on last season’s battles against Arsenal, and stated that that it will be a significant challenge to beat the Gunners again this season.
“The gap between us and Arsenal in terms of points may have looked big, but the margins between winning and losing were always very tight for us. We won many games by just a single goal, which shows how hard we had to work for every result. We’ll have to fight for those fine margins again this season.”
Catch all the action from the Premier League 2025-26 season, August 16 onwards, LIVE & Exclusive on Star Sports Network and JioHotstar.