Arne Slot pays emotional tribute to ‘special’ Diogo Jota | OneFootball

Arne Slot has been left bereft by the loss of Diogo Jota, who tragically died in a car accident alongside his brother Andre Silva on Thursday morning.

The siblings were killed after the car they were driving veered off the road due to a blown tyre and burst into flames. The accident happened around 00:30 CET in the Zemora region of Spain.

Jota lifted the Premier League trophy in Slot’s first season in charge of Liverpool, contributing six goals and three assists in 26 top-flight appearances. He played 37 times in total under the Dutchman.

On Thursday evening Slot released a lengthy statement, saying the player’s passing has left him and the club in “absolute shock”.

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Arne Slot statement on Diogo Jota in full:

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.

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 teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special.

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.

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.

My condolences go to Diogo’s wife, Rute, their three beautiful children and to the parents of Diogo and Andre Silva.

When the time is right, we will celebrate Diogo Jota, we will remember his goals and we will sing his song. For the time being, we will remember him as a unique human being and mourn his loss. He will never be forgotten.

His name is Diogo.

Read – Diogo Jota: Spanish police confirm details of tragic car crash

See Also – Cristiano Ronaldo pays tribute to late Diogo Jota and Andre Silva

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