Liverpool forward Diogo Jota shared the touching meaning behind his final goal for the club just weeks before he tragically passed away in a car accident.
The 28-year-old Portugal international and his brother, Andre Silva, died on July 3 when their Lamborghini went off the road in northern Spain. Jota was returning to England to begin pre-season training after helping Liverpool win the Premier League title last season.
His last goal for the Reds was the decisive winner in the Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield in April, a strike that he said gave him pride after a challenging campaign.
It was a very tough season for me, but I was always there fighting, and I could help the team that day, and I’m proud of what I could still do,” Jota said in the club documentary Champions 24-25: The Inside Story.
It’s hard to describe. That’s the feeling I look for when I play football, that’s why you put all your life and all your efforts to moments like that, moments where you can decide an important game.
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Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 and went on to win the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup during his five-year stay at Anfield.
“It is something I could not even dream as a kid. I wanted to play in the Premier League but I could never imagine to win it,” he reflected. Pictures that will be shown forever. It is a remarkable achievement for a small guy that came from Gondomar, where I had this dream.”
Liverpool have retired his number 20 shirt in honour of his service to the club. The Reds also plan to build a permanent sculpture of Jota outside Anfield, while a mural of the forward has already been painted on a building near the stadium.
