Diogo Jota’s funeral in Gondomar, Portugal, was attended by many Liverpool players of past and present, but goalkeeper Alisson was unable to make it on Saturday morning
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has posted a touching tribute to Diogo Jota on the day of his funeral. Jota was laid to rest with his brother Andre Silva in Gondomar, Portugal, on Saturday in a ceremony that was attended by many of his teammates.
Jota and his brother died in a car crash in Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning. After a wake on Friday evening, which was attended by the family and close friends, the funeral took place at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar catholic church on Saturday morning.
There was a large presence from Liverpool with Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Darwin Nunez, Ryan Gravenberch, Federico Chiesa and manager Arne Slot among those to attend. Ex-Liverpool players in Caoimhin Kelleher, Jordan Henderson and James Milner were also present.
However, Alisson was unable to make it to the ceremony, having gone back to his native Brazil during the off-season. Having sadly been unable to attend the funeral of his father, who drowned at the age of 57 in 2021, Alisson was faced with a similarly devastating problem after the shock news of Jota’s passing.
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Alongside a picture of Alisson and his family with Jota’s family, he wrote on Instagram: “Usually, I post things that make sense, but today, nothing makes sense! Once again, an ocean separates me from ‘saying goodbye’ to someone I love!
“But I know that I am well represented by my club mates! To you, my friend @rutecfcardoso14, just know that you will never walk alone, we will be with you as soon as possible!
“In a moment like this, all we can do is bow down before the Sovereignty of God, and receive grace and help in this time! I’ll remember Diogo as a great friend, father and husband!”
Earlier this year, Alisson spoke candidly about the traumatic decision he was forced to make for his father’s funeral, with Covid restrictions in place and a pregnant partner.
“When I got the call that my father died, I was an ocean away from home. I was in Liverpool, and we were in the middle of the 2020-2021 season. His death was sudden. A complete shock,” Alisson wrote in The Players’ Tribune.
“It was even more complicated, because it was right in the middle of the pandemic, and the logistics of getting home were a nightmare. My wife was pregnant with our third child, and Covid was exploding again in Brazil. Her doctor said that it was risky for her to travel, so she had to stay in Liverpool with our kids.”
He added: “But it was an impossible situation, because at that time, in order to fly out of the country, you had to be quarantined in a hotel for 14 days when you returned. The thought of coming back from my father’s funeral and being trapped in a hotel room by myself for two weeks was hard, but the worst part was imagining my wife on her own for that long. She was going to be in her third trimester, and anything could happen.
“We had to watch his funeral on FaceTime. My brother held up the phone for the entire service, and I was able to pray and cry with my mother, and even say goodbye to my father at his casket. In that moment, as strange as it sounds, you forget that you’re on a screen.”
Van Dijk and Robertson carried red floral tributes bearing his No.20 Liverpool shirt number. Ruben Neves, who played with Jota for Wolves and the Portugal national team, was among those to help carry his coffin.
Jota and his brother died after the Lamborghini they were travelling in spun off the road in north west Spain and caught fire in the early hours of Thursday morning. The funeral followed a private wake on Friday, which was attended by Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, who he married last month, and the player’s family.