Enzo Maresca Supports Pedro Neto After Diogo Jota’s Passing
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has expressed his full support for Chelsea forward Pedro Neto following the death of his close friend and Portuguese national team teammate, Diogo Jota. Maresca has made it clear that the decision to play in the next Club World Cup match against Palmeiras is entirely up to Neto, offering him the full support of the club.Diogo Jota, Liverpool player, died along with his brother André Silva in a car accident in northern Spain. Jota and Neto shared a locker room at Wolverhampton before Jota joined Liverpool in 2020. Both footballers were teammates in the Portuguese national team, where they won the UEFA Nations League last month. Neto did not participate in Chelsea’s training session in Miami on Thursday morning after learning of Jota’s death. Maresca assured that the player is not pressured to play against Palmeiras if he does not feel up to it.“It’s entirely Pedro’s decision if he wants to play. I had a conversation with him this morning and we support him. Whatever decision he makes is the right one”
Enzo Maresca
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella also spoke out about the situation, highlighting the team’s support for Neto.“Pedro is very sad, probably more than sad. But we are close to Pedro to support him at this moment”
Enzo Maresca
Cucurella added that the team hopes to show their support and dedicate a goal to Neto. “It is important that Pedro feels good [to play]. Football is secondary, but tomorrow is a long day and any decision they make will be good. Football is not important at times like this. The most important thing is that we show respect and all our love.”“In the morning, he was sad and it wasn’t his best moment. But we tried to be together and in the afternoon he was a little better”
Marc Cucurella
