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The football community continues to reel from Thursday’s devastating news of the former Liverpool man on Thursday (3 July).

Manchester United has shown compassion by granting Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot additional time off following the tragic passing of their Portugal teammate Diogo Jota.

The pair, originally scheduled to return to pre-season training at Carrington this week, have been offered an extra week of compassionate leave after attending the No.20’s funeral in Portugal according to the Manchester World.

For Liverpool, Captain Virgil van Dijk arrived carrying a red floral tribute shaped like a football shirt with Jota’s number 20 in white flowers, while Andy Robertson carried a similar arrangement with number 30 for André Silva.

Manager Arne Slot and numerous players including Darwin Núñez, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Conor Bradley, and Joe Gomez all attended.

What made this ceremony particularly heart-wrenching was its timing – taking place in the very same church where Jota had married his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso just 11 days earlier.

Church bells tolled at 10:00 AM local time as the funeral service began, with pallbearers carrying the coffins of both brothers into the church.

The service, presided over by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, was kept private at the family’s request, though the audio was broadcast outside for the hundreds of mourners who couldn’t fit inside.

Meanwhile, Liverpool has postponed their pre-season return until Tuesday this week. 

Originally, some players were scheduled to report to the AXA Training Centre on Friday, with a larger group expected on Monday, but the club granted everyone additional time to grieve and attend the funeral.

The decision on whether Liverpool’s first friendly against Preston North End on Sunday will proceed remains uncertain.

Preston North End are reportedly “following Liverpool’s lead” and have prepared tributes to honor Jota should the match go ahead.

The club will consult with players and staff upon their Tuesday return to determine if they feel ready to take the field.

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