The recent news of Portuguese forward Diogo Jota’s death took world football by storm. Married just days before his death, Jota was involved in a car crash in the northwestern area of Spain in the city of Zamora. Alongside Jota, his younger brother Andre Silva was also present in the car, who passed away due to the accident as well.
At just 28 years old, Jota already had an esteemed career, with a Premier League title for Liverpool, and recently winning the Nations League with Portugal, Jota had been hopeful of a good season in 2025/26. With his recent passing, Liverpool FC recently came forward and announced that they will be retiring jersey number 20 to honour Jota after his passing.
After discussion with family members, the club decided to retire the Portuguese’s jersey number across all levels, including LFC Women and Academy. “Liverpool FC will retire the number 20 jersey across all levels of the club in honour and memory of Diogo Jota,” the club posted on X.
Michael Edwards gives his take on Diogo Jota’s passing
Furthermore, in light of the recent events, Michael Edwards, CEO of football for Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, took centre stage and talked about how big an impact Diogo Jota had on those around him. He emphasised how retiring a jersey number is being done for the first time in the club, and that goes to show the contributions that Jota had for the club.
"As a club, we were all acutely aware of the sentiment of our supporters—and we felt exactly the same way. It was vitally important to us to involve Diogo's wife, Rute, and his family in the decision and to ensure they were the first to know of our intention,” Edwards said in a statement.
"I believe this is the first time in Liverpool Football Club's history that such an honour has been bestowed upon an individual. Therefore, we can say this is a unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person. By retiring this squad number, we are making it eternal—and therefore never to be forgotten,” he added.
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