Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan has confirmed the club will discuss a formal tribute to Diogo Jota when the time is right.
Jota tragically passed away in a car accident last week alongside his brother André, rocking the football world as fans from across the globe came together in support of his family, friends and all those close to the Portugal international.
Wreaths have been laid outside Anfield and Hogan is eager to continue the tributes for Jota, confirming he will speak with the player’s family at a later date to finalise plans.
“It is early, it has obviously only been a few days,” Hogan told club media. “I think the most important thing in this process is that we want to make sure we are respecting the family.
“As a club, there’s been lots of ideas and certainly within the supporter base, lots of ideas. That’s something we’ll take forward with the family and we want to have those conversations at the appropriate time. Obviously they have gone through an unimaginable situation over the course of the last several days.
“We certainly will, obviously, remember both André and Diogo and at the appropriate time we’ll make those plans clear. We’ve got the match on Sunday at Deepdale and we’ll of course remember them at that match. Then the tour, then we come back to Anfield and then the season starts, so we’re thinking about all of those moments. Of course, we want to make sure we do the right thing and appropriately remember both André and Diogo.”
Hogan went on to discuss his fond memories of Jota, both as a player and as a person.
“Obviously he was an incredible footballer and gave us incredible memories,” the Liverpool chief continued. “One of the messages was how many times we said, ‘Just bring Jota on’—I think we probably all said similar things over the years.
“Obviously football was a huge part of his life, it was how we got to know him. But he was beyond that obviously a son, a brother, a father, a husband. It sounds trite to say it but he was just a really good person; he was kind, he was thoughtful. He and I had a number of conversations about his e-sports that he was really involved in and we would chat about some of the things that were going on with his team.
“When he talked to you, he would look you in the eye. When you spoke to him, he would listen. He was just a really good, good person. I think that’s why people loved him so much, and he returned that love. He played with a joy. He was obviously incredibly well loved by all of his teammates. We were incredibly welcomed in Gondomar when we were at the wake and the services. You could see his national teammates, André’s teammates, the wider friends and family, the impact they had—two special people that obviously are gone far too early.”
