This involvement was thanks in part to the distinctive song fans had crafted for him throughout his time at the club, but also thanks to the kind of player and person he was.

Music and song play a big role in the memories held by football clubs. The names, the events, the glory, are stored in a songbook passed down through generations as a form of oral storytelling and historical record.

The ode to Jota, to the tune of Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival, is particularly notable and has been prominent during Liverpool’s recent success.

Such songs emerge as a result of a player’s rapport with fans and their character as much as from their performances on the field, but Jota had all of these going for him.

“When I first came to the club, one of the first songs I got to know was the one that our fans sing for Diogo,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said in a tribute on Thursday. 

“I had not worked with him previously, but I knew straight away that if the Liverpool supporters, who have seen so many great players over the years, had such a unique chant for Diogo, he must have special qualities.”

Jota arrived at Anfield from Wolves in 2020, just after Liverpool had lifted the Premier League trophy the season prior and the Champions League in 2019, and was key to their continuation as a team that could challenge for honours, initially under Jurgen Klopp and later under Slot.

Jota had been the top scorer in Wolves’ Championship win in 2018 as the Midlands club were promoted to the Premier League.

When he left, Wolves fans assured their Liverpool counterparts they were getting a gem of a player, and they were not wrong. 

Jota became one of those versatile, hard-working forwards Liverpool have used to great effect alongside Mohamed Salah in recent years, but the Portuguese brought his own, distinct characteristics, with the most obvious being his goal-scoring instincts.

During Liverpool’s recent period of success, other than Mohamed Salah, Jota has been the player most associated with goals.

The list of players with a better goalscoring record than Jota for Liverpool in the Premier League, when taking into account goals scored to minutes played, is short. 

 

As well as Salah, only Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge, Luis Suarez, and Michael Owen have scored more goals per 90 minutes than Jota in the Premier League era.

Jota’s ability to finish with either foot and with his head meant that with him on the pitch, a goal was always possible, regardless of how he or the team were playing.

This was evident when he helped achieve one of the other Liverpool trophy wins he has to go alongside the 2025 Premier League, the 2022 FA Cup.

It was his goal against Nottingham Forest, the only one in the game, that got Liverpool through a tricky tie and into the semifinals. 

From there, they went on to defeat Manchester City and Chelsea to lift the Cup for the first time since 2006, with Jota also scoring one of the spot-kicks at an important moment in the penalty shootout against Chelsea in the final. 

Several clubs had been home to both Jota and Andre throughout their careers, including the youth team of hometown club Gondomar and others in the Porto area, including Pacos de Ferreira and Porto itself.

The 25-year-old Andre was most recently playing in the Portuguese second division for Penafiel.

“The loss of two young lives linked to the world of football fills us with pain and consternation,” Penafiel said in their tribute to the brothers.

“At this difficult time, Futebol Clube Penafiel extends its most sincere condolences to the family, friends and all those who shared moments of life and passion for sport with Andre and Diogo.”

Tributes have come from throughout the world of football. The recollections of Jota’s time in English football are permeated with jubilation. Footage from his time with both Liverpool and Wolves involves plenty of celebration and joy, from promotion to league and cup wins, there are many happy moments to look back upon.

In addition to these were memories of Jota that cannot be found on match highlight videos, but steadily emerged in recent days. Stories personal to fans that hadn’t been heard before but were now coming to light.

These personal connections Jota made were reflected in part of Slot’s tribute, as he described him as “The person who never sought popularity but found it anyway.

“Not a friend to two people, a friend to everyone. Someone who made others feel good about themselves just by being with them. A person who cared deeply for his family.”

The memories of Jota will live on in document and record, in footage and written accounts, but also spiritually through a song that will continue to be sung, etched in the transcendental record of football that exists somewhere between the pitch and the people and the place. 

Diogo Jota will forever be part of the fabric of Liverpool FC and will forever be a Liverpool player.