'Everyone loved Diogo' - Jota remembered one year on

Image source, Getty Images By Aadam Patel Football reporter Published 14 minutes ago A year ago today, the football world was stunned by the death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in a car crash. Jota, 28, had won the Premier League title with the Reds just weeks before his tragic passing - and also married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children, 11 days earlier. He scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool , helping them win the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022, as well as the top flight in 2024-25. Jota began his career at Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreira before joining Atletico Madrid in 2016, although he never played a game for them as he was loaned to Porto for a season and then to Wolves , completing a permanent deal in 2018. Across three seasons with the club, he scored 44 goals in 131 games. Jota made his international debut for Portugal in 2019, replacing Cristiano Ronaldo in a 6-0 win against Lithuania, and won 49 caps, scoring 14 goals. He played his last match for his country on 8 June, 2025, as they beat Spain in the Nations League final on penalties. But for all Jota achieved on the pitch, it is the character off it that is most fondly remembered by those who worked with him during his career... Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Diogo Jota won the Premier League title with Liverpool in 2025 just weeks before his death Former Liverpool goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher, who played with Jota from 2020 to 2025, told BBC Sport: I think about Jots (Jota) often. He was a wonderful guy and definitely one of a kind. He was always himself and stayed true to himself. He didn't care that he was a super famous footballer. He saw himself as a normal guy and stuck to his morals and that's why he mixed with everyone and why everyone at the club got on with him. The first time that I met him was actually at the old training ground in Melwood. Due to the pandemic, we were all split into different changing rooms into fives and he was part of our five. Our friendship started there and developed over time, especially off the pitch. He was into a lot of sports, like myself. And into things that I wouldn't expect a Portuguese footballer to be into like horse racing, darts and snooker - typical British and Irish stuff. Me and Andy Robertson organised a trip to Cheltenham for the races because it aligned with our days off and to be honest, we didn't even have him pinned to go initially but Jots got wind of it and came over and was like, 'When are we going to Cheltenham?'. That's the kind of guy he was and I'll always remember that. He had such an enthusiasm for whatever he did and he looked the part with his Peaky Blinders cap, a full three-piece suit and even a pocket watch. They're all such fond memories to look back on. Honestly, he was non-stop. He was big into watching darts and even started playing it, although he wasn't any good. Some days, he'd be watching live gaming and I just admir