Tears as fans mourn Liverpool's Jota at Anfield

6 hours ago 1

Marc Gaier

BBC News

Reporting fromAnfield Stadium

Jonny Humphries

BBC News, Liverpool

EPA A crowd of people, including a man with his face in his hands, stand on the edge of a grassy area blanketed in flowers, football shirts, scarves and balloons

Thousands of football fans have made their way to Anfield stadium to pay their respects to the Liverpool forward Diogo Jota after his death in a car crash in Spain.

Jota, 28, was killed when a Lamborghini he was travelling in with his younger brother, Andre Silva, suffered a tyre blow-out, crashed and caught fire in Cernadilla in the Zamora province.

Both men died in the crash, which happened at about 00:30 local time, Spanish police told the BBC.

A sea of flowers, football shirts, scarves, balloons and flags have been laid outside Liverpool's ground by fans since news of his death broke.

EPA A statue of Bill Shankly on a stone podium is surrounded by flowers and scarves, with the stadium in the backdrop

Lifelong fan John Barlow from Leyland in Lancashire, a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, said he was "absolutely devastated" when the news broke.

Marc Gaier/BBC John Barlow, who has light grey hair and is wearing glasses and a dark blue Adidas branded hoodie, looks into the camera with a solemn expression while in the backdrop a man lays flowers by a tree surrounded with tributes.

Marc Gaier/BBC Floral wreaths in red and white - a ribbon reads RIP Diogo

Mr Barlow said: "I had to stop what I'm doing at work and drive in.

"I come to every match and he was like one of us. He had a bit of something about him, like a proper old Liverpool player, like the players we were brought up with.

"He had a fight in him and he came back from things and he was tough."

He said he was "just heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken".

PA Media Jurgen Klopp, wearing a black Liverpool FC branded bubble coat and a black cap, smiles as he fist bumps Diogo Jota, who is wearing his red Liverpool kit, during a match

Andrea Molyneux, who went to the stadium with her daughters Isabella and Lily Costello, described their "utter devastation".

"I can't even comprehend the grief that the family are going through," Ms Molyneux said.

"He was just such a young man and life can be taken away from you in such a short time.

"He had everything. Everything."

The Portugal international had recently married his partner, Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three young children.

Marc Gaier/BBC Andrea Molyneux, who is wearing large sunglasses, stands with her arms around the shoulders of her daughters either side of her. All three women are wearing Liverpool kits and have sombre expressions.

Another fan told the BBC he would remember Jota with "a smile on his face, scoring goals for Liverpool".

"But in a time like this, football pales into insignificance," he added.

PA Media A woman in a yellow top and jeans, with her hair in long purple braids, places balloons in the shape of the number 20 on a grassy area blanketed in flowers, football shirts, scarves and balloons

"He's left a wife and three children behind, his brother has passed away with him and his poor parents have lost two children.

"I mean, he'll forever be remembered as a great Red for us. But when something like this happens, football doesn't matter anymore."

PA Media A man in a grey baseball cap and blue coat looks towards the tributes left for Diogo Jota with his hands pressed agains his face. Another man with an orange high-visibility t-shirt and a brown and white cap stands close behind him with a solemn look on his face

Marc Gaier/BBC A sheet reads R.I.P JOTA Y.N.W.A on the metal fence outside Anfield

Writing on social media, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who was in charge at Anfield when Jota was signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020, said he was heartbroken.

"This is a moment where I struggle!" he wrote.

"There must be a bigger purpose, but I can't see it."

Earlier Liverpool FC said it was "devastated" by the loss of the player and his brother.

The club described the player's death as "an unimaginable loss".

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