Liverpool Resumes Training: Tribute to Diogo Jota After Tragedy

Liverpool players returned to pre-season training on Tuesday, five days after the passing of forward Diogo Jota. Jota and his brother, André Silva, lost their lives in a car accident in the early hours of Thursday. It is believed that they were heading to a ferry in Spain to travel to the United Kingdom, where Liverpool’s pre-season would begin, when their Lamborghini went off the road and caught fire. Some Liverpool players were due to start training for the new season last Friday, but the club postponed those plans following Jota’s passing. Arne Slot and many members of the squad were present at the brothers’ funeral in Gondomar, Portugal, on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Liverpool players returned to the AXA Training Centre and were met with several floral tributes, many of them bearing the words of the club anthem: “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. It is planned that the Premier League champion will play their first friendly of the summer against Preston North End on July 13, although it is not clear at this stage whether the match will take place. In recent days, thousands of messages and floral tributes have been placed outside Anfield as a mark of respect for Jota and his brother.

Tributes have also flooded social media from Jota’s teammates, both current and former.

I am absolutely devastated and in total disbelief

Virgil van Dijk

Until yesterday, I never thought there would be anything that would scare me about returning to Liverpool after the break. Teammates come and go, but not like that.

Mohamed Salah

It will be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we return.