Diogo Jota: the footballer's death that shook the world

Death can be cruel and typically does not announce its arrival, but no one could have predicted that Diogo Jota would lose his life the way it happened.

The attacker was travelling back to England as Liverpool prepared to start pre-season in the second week of July.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly for the striker, who had just married the love of his life and the mother of his three children, after winning the Premier League and UEFA Nations League.

Jota was one of the best players to watch, and he had a smile that was so infectious that he made everyone feel comfortable as soon as they met him.

Thanks to clubs’ investment in media teams nowadays, we can watch how amazing the personality of the former Portugal star is by just following Liverpool on social media.

Despite his busy schedule as a player, Jota was a dedicated father who had been committed to his childhood sweetheart from his teenage years.

The striker married her two weeks before he died, leaving her and their three kids fatherless and his parents without their beloved children as the accident also claimed the life of his brother.

As players prepare to return for pre-season matches, the last thing anyone in the world of football had expected was Jota to lose his life.

As he is being mourned, it makes us realise how much influence the attacker had on us and how lovely a player and human he was.

On social media, fans who buy Premier League tickets and other competitions all have great things to say about him and put rivalries aside to mourn the death of one of the best technicians we have watched.

The tough start to his career

Because of his small frame, Jota was unable to join one of the top clubs in Portugal early, and he learnt then that he would have to be extraordinary if he wanted to succeed in football.

Paços de Ferreira was the first club that took a chance on him when he was young, even though he was obviously talented enough for the bigger Portuguese teams.

It did not take him time to make his mark there before being signed by Atletico Madrid ahead of the 2016/2017 season, but they loaned him to FC Porto during that campaign.

Porto had been scouting him, and the loan arrangement gave them a chance to work with the talented youngster at the time.

He was fantastic at Porto, scoring eight league goals in his only season with them, even though he did not start all the games.

That was still not enough to make his parent club feel he could sell Atletico Madrid tickets, so he was sent on loan again during the 2017/2018 season, this time to Wolves.

The attacker accepted the challenge of a team eager to be promoted to the Premier League and helped them achieve that goal in his first season by scoring 17 league goals.

Wolves completed a move for him after just six months at the club, paying Atletico Madrid €14 million for his signature.

He broke records at Wolves as he led them to qualify for Europe, also becoming the second Portuguese star to score a hattrick in the EPL after Cristiano Ronaldo.

Why did Liverpool sign Jota from Wolves?

After monitoring Jota from the 2018/2019 season, Liverpool decided to sign him for their title defence in 2020.

The Reds were the defending Premier League champions and had done extensive scouting work on the Portugal attacker.

Jürgen Klopp is a savvy manager who knows how to sign top players, and he was confident that Jota possessed the required skills to help his team.

Before Jota arrived, Liverpool had a title-winning attack that comprised notably of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

However, the Reds still felt that the team lacked the composure in front of goal, movement, and technique that Jota had.

This was enough for them to sign the striker, and he cost them up to £45 million including add-ons.

At the time, neutrals and fans who bought Liverpool tickets thought that was a huge amount to pay for a player from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Over time, Jota made us fall in love with him, and we did not even think about the amount the club had spent to sign him.

Read More: The strikers tha Liverpool can sign to replace Darwin Nunez.

What made Jota special at Liverpool

It did not take Jota long to win over the fans at Liverpool, scoring on his Premier League debut for the club just weeks after joining, and he also scored the club’s 10,000th goal.

The attacker made a very good start to his time at Anfield as he quickly made some of his doubters, and those who didn’t think he was good enough to eat their words.

Although Liverpool’s title defence in the 2020/2021 season was tough as they had lost Virgil van Dijk to a long-term injury, Jota stood out by scoring nine league goals in his debut campaign.

This start made him one of the club’s main heroes, but as his career continued at the club, he showed a knack for scoring important goals and doing so in brilliant fashion.

His cool-headedness in front of goal meant he scored some remarkable goals for Liverpool and became an integral member of the first team.

His long-term injury during the 2022/2023 season made it difficult for Liverpool, and the Reds failed to qualify for the Champions League, further underscoring his importance to the team.

What we will miss the most about Jota

His Liverpool and national teammates will miss Jota the most because they have shared the locker room together for a very long time.

However, fans who watch him dazzle for club and country will also miss a player who knows how to step up in the big games.

The latest heroic moment from him that will live long with us was that drive and finish against Everton in the 2024/2025 Premier League season.

The Toffees were keen on spoiling Liverpool’s title party and had done so in the reverse fixture, earning a 2-2 draw.

It seemed the game would end in another draw, but Jota stepped up, drove through the Everton defence and coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net.

We would also not forget his late goal against Tottenham in the 2022/2023 season when Richarlison thought he had helped Spurs to come from three goals down to earn a 3-3 draw against Liverpool.

Jota scored with what was one of the last kicks of the game to earn Liverpool a stunning 4-3 win.

The striker has left us with many memories, and we will continue to cherish them for a long time.

We hope he rests in peace and his family gets the strength to bear the loss of such an important player and character.