Bruno Fernandes pays poignant tribute to Diogo Jota ahead of Man United’s visit to Anfield | OneFootball

Bruno Fernandes has paid a poignant tribute to Diogo Jota ahead of Liverpool’s match against Manchester United on Sunday.

It’ll be the first meeting of the two clubs since our number 20 was killed in a car crash in northern Spain in July which also claimed the life of his brother Andre Silva, prompting an outpouring of grief and condolences throughout the world of football.

It was especially difficult for the Red Devils captain, who knew Diogo personally from their time together with the Portugal national team, and he was among a delegation from the Old Trafford club who laid a floral tribute at Anfield shortly after the tragedy three months ago.

Bruno Fernandes pays tribute to Diogo Jota

Fernandes was speaking to Sky Sports in the lead-up to tomorrow’s fixture between the northwestern rivals, and he spoke eloquently about how the loss of his former international teammate continues to be felt by everyone at Liverpool and all those who had the pleasure of knowing him personally.

The Man United midfielder said: “It’s difficult and sad to not have your national teammate there. I played many times against him, not only with the Liverpool shirt but also with the Wolves shirt.

“It will be difficult because I know how much the fans love the way Diogo was, as everyone loved because he was a quiet but funny character inside the dressing room.

“Obviously it will be a difficult moment, but I want to remember the good things and the good moments he had there. He is not with us in presence, but he will be there in some way.”

(Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

A classy tribute from Bruno Fernandes

Although Liverpool fans might revel in mocking the captain of their fiercest rivals whenever he’s seen vociferously protesting to referees, Fernandes’ heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota is a reminder of the affection that he had (and continues to have) for our much-loved number 20.

Ahead of a fixture which can unfortunately bring out the worst in bigoted idiots who indulge in tragedy chanting as a sorely misguided means of point-scoring, the 31-year-old’s sentiments illustrate that some matters are so much more important than a football rivalry.

Obviously when 4:30pm comes around and the match kicks off, both sets of supporters will want nothing more than to claim all three points on the pitch and possess the bragging rights until the teams meet again.

However, as has been evident in the 20th minute of every Liverpool game since July, Diogo’s memory lives on forever amongst Reds fans, and we’re sure it’ll strike an emotional chord with Fernandes when the chant goes up around Anfield tomorrow.

The Man United captain’s words will be greatly appreciated by everyone of an LFC persuasion ahead of the latest chapter in the teams’ on-field rivalry.

You can watch Slot’s full pre-Manchester United press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: