Arne Slot confirms Liverpool owners paying Diogo Jota’s contract in full

By David Charlesworth, PA

Liverpool’s owners will pay the final two years of the late Diogo Jota’s contract to his family, according to Reds manager Arne Slot.

The Portugal striker died aged 28 in a car crash with his brother Andre Silva on July 3rd, just 11 days after the father of three had married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso.

Reports in Portugal at the time suggested Fenway Sports Group had committed to paying out the rest of Jota’s deal, which would have run until the end of the 2026-27 season, in full to support his family.

And in an interview with TNT Sports, Slot has confirmed that to be the case, as he revealed: “I said how proud I felt about how the fans reacted and the ownership…

“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 is – maybe people think it’s normal, but it is not in football.”

Slot also commended Liverpool’s supporters for how they reacted to Jota’s death, adding: “How many flowers there were, all the memorials, I can almost get emotional thinking about it.

“It’s unbelievable what our fans have done and our players as well, the way they have conducted themselves in and around the funeral.

“And then we have to train again. There are moments where I feel ‘what must his wife and his children feel now?’ It sounds so hard but our life continues.”