Liverpool retires number 20 jersey to honour Diogo Jota after his tragic death

Liverpool Football Club has retired the number 20 jersey in honour of Diogo Jota, who passed away in a car crash with his brother, Andre Silva.

Jota, aged 28, died on July 3 when the Lamborghini he was driving skidded off the road following a tyre blowout while overtaking another car. He was on his way back to England by ferry and road after doctors told him not to fly following a recent minor operation.

The deadly crash on Thursday early morning claimed the lives of Jota and his brother 11 days into the wedding of Jota to long-time girlfriend Rute Cardoso.

In a club statement, Liverpool affirmed that no player at any level, whether women’s team or academy, will ever wear the number 20 again. The club termed the action an everlasting tribute to the influence Jota had on and off the pitch.

“This is a special dedication to a very special person,” said Fenway Sports Group’s football CEO, Michael Edwards. “By retiring this jersey number, we are making it permanent—and thus never forgotten.”

The move, the club went on, was made after consulting in full with Jota’s wife and family.

Jota signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Liverpool in 2020 and played 182 times, netting 65 goals. He was pivotal in Liverpool’s 2022 League Cup and FA Cup double success and assisted the team in winning the Premier League championship in 2024.

After the tragedy, Rute Cardoso and her kids made a journey to Anfield, where they planted flowers and looked at the tributes left outside the stadium. She was accompanied by Liverpool’s manager, Arne Slot, and the whole team.

Liverpool’s first post-incident.pre-season game will be played this Sunday against Preston. North End. A minute’s silence and some tributes are in store in respect of the late Portuguese. striker and his brother.

Jota’s funeral took place last Saturday in his home town of Gondomar, Portugal. There was a decent-sized following of Liverpool fans there to show their respects.

With this action, Jota is the first in Liverpool’s history to have his jersey number retired—a sentimental goodbye to one of the favorites of the Reds whose mark will last forever at Anfield.