Liverpool Football Club and Fenway Sports Group representatives have travelled to Portugal to attend the public wake of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva. Liverpool staff Richard Hughes, Lee Nobes, Jonathan Power and Amit Pannu were among those seen arriving at the chapel in Gondomar.
Michael Edwards, CEO of Football for Fenway Sports Group, and Julian Ward, another chief FSG employee, were also spotted at Capela da Ressurreicao to pay their respects. Edwards was responsible for signing Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a deal worth up to £45 million during his previous role as Liverpool’s sporting director in September 2020.
Fabinho, Jota’s teammate at Liverpool, was also seen arriving at the wake, along with Portuguese internationals Bernardo Silva, Diogo Dalot, Joao Moutinho, Jose Fonte and Andre Silva.
The public wake has been ongoing throughout the day, with mourners continuing to line up to enter the chapel and pay their respects to Jota and his brother in their hometown.
Jota, a striker for Liverpool, and his 26 year old brother, who played for Portuguese side Penafiel, tragically died on Thursday (July 3) following a car crash caused by a tyre blowout while overtaking on the A52, known as the Palacios de Sanabria, according to local police reports.
The remains of the two footballers were repatriated to Portugal on Thursday evening, with a wake held today and their funeral service scheduled at Igreja Matriz de Gondomar tomorrow on Saturday, July 5.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah paid an emotional tribute to Jota on Friday, expressing: “I am truly lost for words.
“Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break.
“Team-mates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.
“My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children.
“Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get.
“They will never be forgotten.”