Arne Slot releases emotional statement after Diogo Jota tragically dies aged 28
Arne Slot has released an emotional statement following Diogo Jota's tragic death.
The Liverpool forward and his brother, Andre Silva, were killed in a car crash in the early hours of this morning (3 July).
The Premier League winning team said it is 'devastated' by the player's passing and supporters have been paying tribute to the 28-year-old and his brother at Anfield today.
Former manager Jurgen Klopp wrote on Instagram that he was 'heartbroken' over the deaths as Jota's Portugal teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, said it 'doesn't make sense'.
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A person statement from Slot on the club's website said they are in 'absolute shock'.
“What to say? What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and the pain is so incredibly raw? I wish I had the words but I know I do not," the manager said in a statement.
“All I have are feelings that I know so many people will share about a person and a player we loved dearly and a family we care so much about. My first thoughts are not those of a football manager. They are of a father, a son, a brother and an uncle and they belong to the family of Diogo and Andre Silva who have experienced such an unimaginable loss.
"My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone. The players, the staff, the supporters of Liverpool Football Club are all with you and from what I have seen today, the same can be said of the wider family of football.
"This is not solely a response to tragedy. It is also a reaction to the goodness of the people involved and the respect that so many have for the boys as individuals and for the family as a whole.
“For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a team-mate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special."
The statement continues: "I could say so much about what he brought to our team but the truth is everyone who watched Diogo play could see it. Hard work, desire, commitment, great quality, goals. The essence of what a Liverpool player should be.
"There were also the parts that not everyone got to see. The person who never sought popularity but found it anyway. Not a friend to two people, a friend to everyone. Someone who made others feel good about themselves just by being with them. A person who cared deeply for his family.
"The last time we spoke, I congratulated Diogo on winning the Nations League and wished him luck for his forthcoming wedding. In many ways, it was a dream summer for Diogo and his family, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that it should end like this."
Slot continues: "When I first came to the club, one of the first songs I got to know was the one that our fans sing for Diogo. I had not worked with him previously but I knew straight away that if the Liverpool supporters, who have seen so many great players over the years, had such a unique chant for Diogo, he must have special qualities.
"That we have lost those qualities in such terrible circumstances is something we have not yet come to terms with. For this reason, we need everyone at the club to stand together and to be there for one another. We owe this to Diogo, to Andre Silva, to their wider family and to ourselves.”
Local police, investigating the accident at 1230am on Thursday in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora, said: “In the absence of a conclusion of the experts’ evidence, everything points that a car left the road, due to a tyre blowout while overtaking.”
Jess Battison