Real Salt Lake's Diogo Gonçalves pays emotional tribute to Diogo Jota | OneFootball

By MLSsoccer staff

The tragic, untimely passing of Portugal and Liverpool FC star Diogo Jota rocked the international soccer community this week.

Jota, who was killed in a car crash in Spain with his brother and fellow soccer player Andre Silva, was mourned around the world, with tributes pouring in from all corners of the globe.

Major League Soccer was no exception, with the tragedy hitting particularly close to home for Real Salt Lake's Diogo Gonçalves.

The RSL midfielder is a former Portuguese youth international teammate of Jota, with the two featuring on the same roster for the 2019 UEFA Euro U-21 qualifiers.

So when Gonçalves scored in the 43rd minute of Saturday's 3-2 home win over St. Louis CITY SC, he paid tribute to Jota in the most fitting way possible: dropping to the pitch, sitting cross-legged and pretending to play a video game, just like the legendary Liverpool No. 20 celebrated so many of his goals.

The heartfelt gesture was replicated at GEODIS Park, where Hany Mukhtar and his Nashville SC teammates honored Jota after the German scored a second-half, stoppage-time penalty kick goal to beat the Philadelphia Union by a 1-0 scoreline.

Additionally, the San Jose Earthquakes observed a moment of silence for Jota and Silva before Saturday's 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls.