Trent Alexander-Arnold pays tribute to former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota | OneFootball

Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has decided to pay tribute to former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota with an inscription on his boots. He decided to do so with Real Madrid playing in Jota’s native Portugal on Tuesday night.

Jota and Alexander-Arnold were good friends while the pair shared a dressing room at Anfield, which was the case until last June when the latter moved to Madrid. A matter of weeks later, Jota perished in a tragic car accident with his brother Andre Silva in the region of Zamora in Spain. Their passing moved the world of football, and in particular, it was a heartfelt loss among footballers themselves.

Alexander-Arnold tribute to Diogo Jota

As highlighted by the Rising Ballers Instagram account (via Diario AS), Alexander-Arnold wore a tribute to Jota on his boots at the Estadio da Luz. A ’20’ accompanied by an infinity symbol were visible on his instep, a reference to Jota’s number at Liverpool.

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Jota passing moved the world of football

For a number of weeks and months afterwards, and still today, the impact of Jota’s passing has been visible, and none more so than at Anfield. Barcelona full-back Joao Cancelo and another of his teammates at international level for Portugal, Ruben Neves, were both overcome by emotion when they took to the pitch to face Real Madrid with Al-Hilal during the Club World Cup. Before Real Madrid faced Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League league phase, they also laid a wreath at his memorial the night before the game.

Alexander-Arnold himself referred to Jota as a ‘true friend’ and ‘a great teammate‘, and said that he would like to remember him ‘with a big smile’ when it’s less painful in the days after his passing. During an interview at the Club World Cup, Trent explained that Jota ‘lit up every room’, and would not be forgotten by anyone.