7 hours ago
5
Mohamed Salah has revealed that he is 'lost for words' following the tragic death of his Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota at the age of 28.
Jota and his brother Andre passed away following a car crash in Spain in the early hours of Thursday.
Portugal international Jota had married Rute Cardoso just two weeks prior to his death.
Salah and Jota had been team-mates at Liverpool since the latter's arrival at the club in 2020.
Salah wrote on X: 'I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team mates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.
'My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.'
Mohamed Salah says that he is 'lost for words' after his team-mate Diogo Jota passed away
Salah and Jota played 151 games together for Liverpool after the latter's arrival in 2020
Jota and his brother Andre passed away following a car crash in Spain in the early hours of Thursday
In total, Salah and Jota played 151 matches together for Liverpool and combined for goals on 19 occasions.
Overall, Jota made 182 appearances for the Reds and scored 65 goals, while he provided 26 assists.
He was part of the Liverpool squad that won the Premier League title last season and previously won the FA Cup and two League Cups.
Jota and his brother Andre died when his Lamborghini had a tyre blow out while overtaking another vehicle on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora.
The car is said to have burst into flames, with the brothers unable to be saved.
They had been heading to Santander in order to get a ferry to Britain, with Diogo advised not to fly after lung surgery.
Mourners gathered in Gondomar, Portugal to pay their respects to Jota and his brother.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was amongst those to pay tribute at Anfield.
Jota and Rute Cardoso have three children, pictured on the Anfield pitch in May after winning the Premier League
Hundreds of fans laid flowers and scarves outside Liverpool's home stadium on Thursday
Lines can be seen on the road today where the Lamborghini overtook a car and then straight into the crash barriers
The remains of the Lamborghini that contained Diogo Jota and his brother Andre. Paramedics fought to save the men after the crash at around 12.35am on Thursday
Liverpool manager Arne Slot was amongst those to issue a tribute to Jota.
'What to say? What can anyone say at a time like this when the shock and the pain is so incredibly raw?' Slot began. 'I wish I had the words but I know I do not.
'All I have are feelings that I know so many people will share about a person and a player we loved dearly and a family we care so much about.
'My first thoughts are not those of a football manager. They are of a father, a son, a brother and an uncle and they belong to the family of Diogo and Andre Silva who have experienced such an unimaginable loss.
'My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone. The players, the staff, the supporters of Liverpool Football Club are all with you and from what I have seen today, the same can be said of the wider family of football.
'This is not solely a response to tragedy. It is also a reaction to the goodness of the people involved and the respect that so many have for the boys as individuals and for the family as a whole.'
