Arne Slot has confirmed Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, is to pay the final two years of Diogo Jota’s contract to the late striker’s family.
The forward and his brother, André Silva, tragically died in a car accident in Spain on 3 July, 11 days after Jota married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, the mother of their three young children. Reports at the time indicated Liverpool would honour the remainder of the 28-year-old’s contract, which was to run until 2027 and was understood to be worth around £140,000 a week.
In an interview with Ally McCoist for TNT SportsSlot confirmed that FSG has committed to paying Jota’s family the remainder of his contract. And he admitted finding it difficult to continue with professional life as normal, while thinking what Jota’s bereaved family are going through. The Liverpool head coach said: “The way the fans conducted themselves after that tragedy, 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. People expect from me that I prepare them for ever and that sometimes feels a bit difficult knowing how hard it is for the family and for the parents in the phase they are still going through and will go through for the rest of their lives.”
Slot added: “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.”
