Diogo Jota’s family moved to tears by fans’ tribute to late Liverpool star

Diogo Jota’s wife and parents were in attendance at Molineux on Saturday as Wolves paid a poignant tribute to the former Liverpool star ahead of their match against Manchester City

The wife and parents of the late Diogo Jota were moved to tears at Molineux on Saturday evening as Wolves paid a touching tribute to their former star with an impressive tifo before their Premier League opener against Manchester City.

The stunning tribute in the south bank showcased a massive image of Jota celebrating a goal during his tenure as a Wolves player – a period when he led their Championship victory and promotion, followed by back-to-back seventh-place Premier League campaigns. Next to the tifo, a banner was unfurled on the pitch with the poignant message: “We’ll remember you when you walk in fields of gold.”

Jota’s wife, Rute Cardoso, was present at the match alongside Ruben Neves, Jota’s former Wolves and Portugal teammate and close friend, who also served as a pallbearer at his funeral following his tragic death last month.

Also in attendance for the match were the parents of Jota and Andre Silva, who died alongside his brother in a car crash in Spain. Like Jota’s wife, Isabel and Joaquim Silva were visibly emotional.

As the clock hit the 18-minute mark during the game, fans throughout the stadium stood and applauded for 60 seconds in honour of Jota, who wore the No. 18 jersey for Wolves during his stint in the Black Country, according to the Mirror, reports the Irish Mirror.

Jota moved to Liverpool from Wolves in 2020, spending five years at Anfield, and Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Friday featured several tributes to Jota.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted after the game that he desperately wanted to call upon Jota from the substitutes’ bench as his side searched for a winner.

“Normally at 2-2 everyone knows which player I look to at that moment in time,” Slot revealed.

“I would have loved to bring in Diogo Jota, but I could not for terrible reasons. But tonight the fans and the players did what he did for us many times in the past.”

Match winner Federico Chiesa, who scored Liverpool’s crucial goal to secure a 3-2 victory, also paid tribute to Jota in his post-match interview, saying: “[The goal] was a great moment for me, but my thoughts go to Diogo.

“I think for what we have seen it was his day. The feeling that the fans gave me, chanting his song all the way through the match. It was very emotional, very emotional for me. I have to say that after the goal my thoughts went to his family, his brother Andre. That’s the only thing I could say.

“At the end of the day we have to focus on the football. We wanted to win today. It was a difficult match, we went 2-0 up and then they came back, but we showed why we are champions.

“Of course Diogo would have helped us a lot but unfortunately he was somewhere else and he helped us in another way.”