Luis Diaz has paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota in an interview after the sudden passing of his Liverpool team-mate
Luis Diaz has paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota as he admitted he broke down in tears after hearing that his Liverpool team-mate had died. Jota was killed in a car crash in the early hours of Thursday morning (July 3), along with his brother, Andre Silva, after their vehicle veered off the road following a tyre blowout.
Diaz was unable to attend the funeral of the brothers, which took place in their hometown of Gondomar on Saturday (July 5).
But while the Colombia international was not present, the majority of the Liverpool squad were in attendance – along with former Reds team-mates Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara and Caoimhin Kelleher.
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Diaz spoke to Colombian TV ahead of the funeral as he paid tribute to Jota, revealing the impact the Portuguese had on his fellow forward during their shared time at Anfield.
“Obviously it’s very hard. It’s very hard to find out about news like that, isn’t it?” Diaz said on Win Sports. “The first thing you do when you wake up is to look at the news, which is very sad because of what happened, honestly.
“The family among us, it caught us all off guard and I don’t think anyone is prepared for that kind of news.
“A team-mate, instrumental in my arrival in Liverpool because his family welcomed me, he welcomed me and we became great friends.
“We had a great, healthy rivalry and he was important. We always agree on many things.
“I just want to wish him a lot of strength, give a lot of strength to his family, to his wife, to his children that he left behind. Because the truth is they must be suffering a lot from this terrible news.
“(It hurts) a lot, a lot. It was incredible when I woke up and saw the news. The truth is I broke down in tears. It as a very, very, very big pain.”
Meanwhile, Diaz also recalled how much it meant when Jota showed his support after the Colombian’s parents were kidnapped, by running to the sidelines and holding aloft his shirt after scoring against Nottingham Forest in October 2023.
“I remember that he had a very, very nice gesture towards me and that is always going to stay with me,” he said. “Just like I said on the photo I uploaded to social media.
“I just want to tell him to rest in peace, that I will carry a great friend with me in my heart who will always be remembered by his team, by his family, by his friends and by everyone he left behind.”