Liverpool will retire the No. 20 shirt to honor Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash with his brother André Silva last week, ESPN reports. Jota had worn No. 20 since joining from Wolves in 2020.
After consulting with his widow Rute and family, the club announced Jota’s squad number will be retired at all levels, including LFC Women and Academy, to honor his contributions on and off the pitch during his five years with the team.
“As a club, we were all acutely aware of the sentiment of our supporters — and we felt exactly the same way,” Michael Edwards, CEO of football for Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, said in a statement Friday.
“It was vitally important to us to involve Diogo’s wife, Rute, and his family in the decision and to ensure they were the first to know of our intention.
“I believe this is the first time in Liverpool Football Club’s history that such an honor has been bestowed upon an individual. Therefore, we can say this is a unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person.
“By retiring this squad number, we are making it eternal — and therefore never to be forgotten.
“Diogo joined us in 2020, he won us number 20 [Liverpool’s 20th English league title], and he wore — with honor, distinction and affection — the number 20.
“As far as Liverpool Football Club is concerned, he will be forever our number 20.”
Liverpool are scheduled to play their first match following Jota’s passing—a friendly fixture against Championship club Preston North End—this Sunday. The Premier League champions’ opening preseason friendly of the summer may feature several first-team players, who returned to training on Tuesday. The team’s initial plans for resuming preseason training were postponed as many squad members attended Jota’s funeral in Portugal last Saturday.
