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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has confirmed that the club will pay Diogo Jota’s remaining contract in full to his family after the Portuguese forward tragically lost his life in a road accident.
Jota, aged 28, died alongside his brother Andre Silva on July 3, 2025 while travelling to catch a ferry back to the UK for pre-season training.
His sudden passing left the football world in shock, with tributes pouring in for his wife Rute Cardoso and their three children.
The former Wolves striker still had two years left on his Liverpool contract, and owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have chosen to honour it entirely.
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Slot described the decision as an extraordinary gesture. Speaking to TNT Sports, he said:
Owners are mainly criticised, like managers, but the way they’ve handled this situation, by paying his wife and his children all the money from the contract. Maybe people think it’s normal, but it is not in football.
Arne Slot
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Slot admitted it has been an emotional summer on Merseyside:
The grief of the city, that is what makes it so special to work at this club. The fans, the players, the memorials… I can almost get emotional thinking about it.
Liverpool honour Jota exceptionally well
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner also praised Jota’s character, saying:
He was an extraordinary person… beloved not because he was the leading goalscorer, but because he was genuinely kind. It was immediately important to us to make sure his widow, and children were taken care of. We think of ourselves as a family.
Jota joined Liverpool in 2020 and went on to score 65 goals in 182 games, becoming a key part of the squad under Jurgen Klopp.
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The club have since retired his number 20 shirt and commissioned a sculpture made from items left at his memorial outside Anfield.