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Alexis Mac Allister says Diogo Jota will be supporting his Liverpool team-mates from above on Friday(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Alexis Mac Alilster has paid a touching tribute to Diogo Jota ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League season opener.

The Reds kick-off the 2025/26 campaign at home against Bournemouth on Friday evening as they look to defend their 20th Premier League crown.

But they will sadly be without their No.



The Portugal international passed away in a car crash alongside his brother, Andre Silva, 39 days after lifting his first league trophy with the Reds and just 11 days after marrying the mother of his three children.

It’s understandable therefore that, with anticipation building ahead of a new league season, Jota’s absence has stirred up emotion among his former team-mates.

One such team-mate is midfielder Mac Allister, who was among the 28-year-old’s closest friends in the Liverpool dressing room.

The Argentina international on Thursday wrote in The Players’ Tribune about Liverpool’s success last term, before offering a heart-warming tribute to Jota and his brother.

He began by saying: “Obviously, and with great emotion, I want to dedicate this paragraph to Diogo.

One day he would come and give you the hug of a lifetime, and the next day he wouldn't even say hello, hahaha.

Article continues belowAlexis Mac Allister is one of many to have been left mourning Diogo Jota (Image: 2023 Liverpool FC)

“We loved to ‘take the p***,’ and we always found a way, whether it was our Messi vs Cristiano arguments, or just playing cards.

20.

Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister is expected to feature at Anfield on Friday night(Image: ITV)

Mac Allister added: “I’d like to take this opportunity to send my warmest regards to his family, whom we must never forget, as they are the ones who are suffering the most from the tragic passing of him and his brother André.