Liverpool are to retire Diogo Jota’s number 20 shirt in honour of the Portugal forward who was killed with his brother Andre Silva in a car crash this month.
“After consultation with his wife, Rute, and family, the club can announce the squad number will be retired in honour andmemory of Diogo across all levels, including LFC Women and Academy,” the club announced on Friday.
“I believe this is the first time in Liverpool Football Club’s history that such an honour has been bestowed upon an individual,” the club’s chief executive Michael Edwards noted.
“Therefore, we can say this is a unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person,” he added.
Liverpool return to action for the first time since the July 3 tragedy at English Championship side Preston in a pre-season friendly on Monday (NZT).
A rendition of Liverpool’s anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone will be played prior to the kick-off and Preston will lay a wreath in front of the away supporters.
A minute’s silence will then be observed, digital tributes displayed on the stadium big screen and on pitchside advertising boards and players from both teams will wear black armbands.
Father of three Jota, who married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso 11 days before the accident, died alongside his brother after a Lamborghini they were travelling in came off the road and burst into flames in northern Spain.
Liverpool scarves are seen beside flowers left at a memorial set up close to Anfield football ground for their Portuguese forward Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash. Photo / AFP
Liverpool manager Arne Slot and a number of first-team players, led by captain Virgil van Dijk, attended Jota’s funeral last weekend.
An ongoing investigation into the crash is examining “the marks left by one of the vehicle’s wheels... everything points to a possible excessive speed beyond the road’s speed limit”, the Civil Guard said.
Speed limits on Spanish motorways are generally set at 120km/h.
The site of the accident on the A-52 route in the northwestern province of Zamora was on a stretch of fairly straight road approaching a bend.
The Civil Guard had previously said a tyre had probably blown out while the vehicle was overtaking, causing it to crash and burst into flames.
“All the tests conducted so far indicate that the driver of the vehicle was Diogo Jota,” the force added.
Just hours before the accident, Jota had posted a video of his June 22 wedding to partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children.
Portuguese and UK media reported Jota was driving to the northern Spanish port of Santander to take a ferry to England for the start of Liverpool’s pre-season training, avoiding a flight on medical advice after a recent lung operation.
