Arne Slot: Liverpool must “stand together” in wake of Diogo Jota car crash | OneFootball

Arne Slot has urged “everyone” at Liverpool “to stand together and to be there for one another” in the wake of Diogo Jota’s fatal car crash in northern Spain on Thursday.

The 28-year-old was travelling on the A-52 highway with his brother when a tyre exploded, the car veered into the central reservation and burst into flames, according to reports in the local media. It is understood that Jota was travelling towards Santander to catch a ferry to England, having been advised to avoid flying after minor lung surgery.

“I wish I had the words but I do not,” Slot admitted in a touching tribute to the Portuguese international on Thursday afternoon, adding “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.”

Jota married his childhood sweetheart less than two weeks ago, and is survived by his three children.

Slot continued: “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 André 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.”

In a statement published on Liverpool FC’s official website, Slot wrote: “Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special.”

“I could say so much about what he brought to our team but the truth is everyone who watched Diogo play could see it. Hard work, desire, commitment, great quality, goals. The essence of what a Liverpool player should be. There were also the parts that not everyone got to see. The person who never sought popularity but found it anyway. Not a friend to two people, a friend to everyone. Someone who made others feel good about themselves just by being with them. A person who cared deeply for his family.”

“That we have lost those qualities in such terrible circumstances is something we have not yet come to terms with. For this reason, we need everyone at the club to stand together and to be there for one another. We owe this to Diogo, to André Silva, to their wider family and to ourselves.”

Slot confirmed that “when the time is right, we will celebrate Diogo Jota, we will remember his goals and we will sing his song. For the time being, we will remember him as a unique human being and mourn his loss. He will never be forgotten.”