Diogo Jota’s widow Rute and the couple’s children attended Liverpool’s match against Wolves on Saturday and were shown immense support by fans of both clubs
Diogo Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso has taken to Instagram to thank fans for their kindness during an “incredibly difficult time”.
The late striker’s widow was present at Anfield with their children for Saturday’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Their sons, Dinis and Duarte, served as mascots for the day in a poignant afternoon. Prior to kick-off, the youngsters walked onto the pitch with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa, marking a touching moment as the two Premier League clubs that Jota represented played for the first time since his tragic death in a car crash in July.
Rute – who married him just two weeks before the tragic car accident – watched from the stands as the crowd delivered a deeply emotional rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Van Dijk then guided Dinis and Duarte towards the Kop for a mini kickabout, earning applause from the spectators.
Earlier, Wolves supporters had gathered at the Jota memorial outside Anfield, leaving numerous tributes in his memory. Liverpool secured a 2-1 victory with goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz. Gravenberch paid tribute to Jota by performing his iconic baby shark celebration after scoring, reports the Mirror.
The club posted a moving video of Jota’s children carrying out their mascot duties, which included footage of Van Dijk comforting Rute before the match. Following the game, Jota’s widow shared touching photos of their children on Instagram.
She said: “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the club and to all the fans for the love, respect and support shown during this incredibly difficult time. Your messages and gestures have meant more than words can express.”
The Liverpool captain called it “an honour” to escort Jota’s sons onto the field ahead of kick-off. Speaking to the club’s official website, he revealed: “It was an absolute honour to have the boys with me and Ali [Becker] as well together.
“I think it was something I was really looking forward to. Obviously, after discussions with Rute and the family, it was really something I looked forward to.
“It was going to be emotional, but I think it’s something that the boys will remember forever. Hopefully, there’s more to come in the future for them, and they can keep enjoying Liverpool because Liverpool is the place that’s very big to their hearts, and Diogo will always stay with us forever. I was very proud to have them with us, and the fans, I think, appreciated that as well.”
The Anfield faithful maintain their touching tribute to Jota through a moving tradition – chanting his name during the 20th minute of every match, commemorating his squad number, which the club has permanently withdrawn in the player’s honour. Supporters packed the comments of her Instagram post with moving messages for the family.
One fan penned: “It was lovely to see you all at Anfield today, I hope we’ve made you proud. Diogo was definitely smiling from up there watching his sons running at Anfield.”
Another chimed in: “I hope you know that we love you so much and that you will never walk alone.” A third supporter posted: “God bless you and your family. We will always love him. YNWA”.
Among those expressing their support was Jota’s former Wolves and Portugal team-mate Sa, who left heart emojis under the post. Kostas Tsimikas, currently on loan at Roma from Liverpool, simply wrote: “Forever.”