Liverpool to pay out Jota’s contract to family
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Arne Slot has confirmed Liverpool will pay up the remainder of Diogo Jota’s contract.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva were both killed when their car suffered a tyre blowout on a motorway in north Spain at the beginning of July.
The Portugal international had been travelling back to Merseyside ahead of reporting for the start of the Premier League champions’ pre-season training.
In an interview with Ally McCoist for TNT Sports, Slot affirmed that Reds owners Fenway Sports Group are set to honour the length of Jota’s final deal.
The 28-year-old’s contract at Anfield was set to run for a further two years until June 2027 and understood to be worth around £140,000 per week.
“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,” said Slot.
“It’s unbelievable what our fans have done and our players as well, the way they have conducted themselves in and around the funeral.
“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.”
He 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.”