Liverpool manager Arne Slot, LFC management team mourn Diogo Jota

Following the tragic death of 28-year-old Liverpool star Diogo Jota in an automobile accident, manager Arne Slot and the management team for LFC have reached out to express their grief. The gut-wrenching loss is still painfully fresh for all involved.

Slot provided a thoroughly moving statement, reflecting on what the young attacker meant to him. It’s clear Slot was struggling to make sense of the horrific tragedy.

“What to say? What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and the pain is so incredibly raw?” Slot wrote. “I wish I had the words but I know I do not.”

Still, the manager who inherited the talented attacking footballer did his best to put into words how much Diogo Jota meant. He touted Liverpool’s mantra: “You’ll never walk alone.”

“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.”

Slot went on to recount how he had congratulated Diogo Jota on winning the Nations League when they last spoke, wishing him well in his upcoming wedding. Jota was recently married at the time of his death. He left behind three children.

The Liverpool manager espoused Jota’s qualities: humility, gregariousness, dedication to family and team. All were part of what made Jota such an integral figure to the Liverpool community.

“That we have lost those qualities in such terrible circumstances is something we have not yet come to terms with,” Slot wrote. “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.”

Liverpool management also chimed in on the devastating loss. Diogo Jota will be missed, to be sure. Executives Billy Hogan, John Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon weighed in jointly.

“This tragic situation and the reality of it is truly shocking, devastating and has left us numb with grief,” the statement read. “We therefore cannot imagine how the immediate and wider family of these remarkable brothers must be feeling. Our thoughts, prayers and support are with them all. …

“But beyond the player that we all knew was a wonderfully humble human being, he was sincere, intelligent, funny, tough and created connections with people everywhere he went. He had a zest for life that was utterly contagious. Diogo was a loving father, son, husband and brother, and we, and everyone who knew him, will miss him deeply as we all try to process the enormity of today.

“Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. You Will Never Walk Alone.”