Liverpool players have arrived in Portugal to attend the funeral of teammate Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva on Saturday morning.
The 28-year-old and his brother were killed in the early hours of Thursday morning when their Lamborghini crashed in Zamora, northwestern Spain.
A wake for the brothers took place on Friday with their funeral falling today in their hometown of Gondomar.
A delegation of Liverpool stars arrived late on Friday night with Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones joined by their former captain Jordan Henderson, who now plans for Ajax. Manager Arne Slot was also present.
Liverpool have not confirmed any arrangements but local reports suggest the club chartered a flight to Portugal on Friday.
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Many of the players were still on summer holiday with their planned return to Merseyside for the start of pre-season training now postponed.
Reds striker Darwin Nunez was pictured in attendance at the wake earlier on Friday. Manchester United and Manchester City stars Diogo Dalot and Bernardo Silva, Jota’s Portugal teammates, also arrived to pay their final respects along with his agent Jorge Mendes.
The funeral for the two brothers will take place at 10am this morning at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church, approximately 16km in-land from Porto.
Liverpool stars have made moving personal tributes to Jota following Thursday’s tragic news with Mohamed Salah ‘frightened’ to return to Liverpool after the devastating loss.
‘Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break,’ he wrote/
‘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.’
Liverpool make incredible gesture to Jota family
Liverpool have already suggested they will retire Jota’s no20 shirt with reports in Portugal claiming the club have already made the decision to pay out the remaining two years of the player’s contract to his family.
Record report Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, who he married just 11 days before his death, and their three young children will receive the value of his remaining contract.
Tributes around the world for Jota
Football matches across the world have been marked by a minute’s silence ahead of kick-off in memory of Jota and his brother.
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto and Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves of Al-Hilal are competing in the Club World Cup matches in the United States, fighting through tears as they remembered their Portugal teammate.
Portugal’s opening match of the women’s European Championship also struck a poignant tone with players linking arms in silence.
Away from football, Oasis kicked off their reunion tour in Cardiff on Friday night with an image of Jota displayed during their hit song Live Forever.
