Jurgen Klopp admits he still hasn't come to terms with Diogo Jota's tragic death

· Mirror

In a new biography of Diogo Jota, the tragic former Liverpool star, his ex-boss Jurgen Klopp reveals he still has not come to terms with the player's death, aged just 28

Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the death of former Liverpool star Diogo Jota for a new biography into the tragic footballer's life.

Jota died aged just 28 along with his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in the summer of 2025 just weeks after becoming a Premier League champion for the Reds udner Klopp.

Klopp has now recalled how he knew he had to sign Jota after watching him in action for Wolves, and how he has struggled to come to terms with the death of one of the most popular members of his Liverpool squad.

"I was watching a Wolves match," recalls Klopp in Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts from Reach Sport, which is available now. "When Diogo drifted to the left, using his physicality, showing refined technique and tremendous power. I immediately thought: ‘I want this player’.

> "It was a gut feeling, the sort that you can usually rely on.

> "Over the years, I’ve learnt that if you see certain things in a footballer – certain actions – they can tell you a great deal about the person. And there have only been very rare cases where I’ve been disappointed or come to realise, later on, that they were actually completely different.

> "Normally when I sign a player, the process is different. I work closely with the scouts and sporting directors, I tell them which position I need to strengthen, and they come back to me with some options. In Diogo’s case, it was me who took the initiative. I asked them to put together some material about him. I told them I wanted to take a closer look at him, and that I was excited about his attributes.

> "We needed versatile players, and Diogo could play in several positions. And he had the right attitude and mentality for a club like Liverpool."

Klopp says he is still coming to terms with the death of Jota at 28, and finds it difficult to speak about the loss of the husband and father of three.

> “I’m 58 years old. I know that people die, that this is part of life," he said. "Once you reach a certain age, we have to accept that these things happen. But when I heard about Diogo’s accident, I was in shock and I couldn’t even speak. I didn’t ask how, I didn’t ask where; I just stopped what I was doing and tried to come to terms with it. To this day, I must admit, I still haven’t really managed to do that.

> “When my assistant Danielle asked me if I was available to have this conversation – to contribute to this book – I said yes, that I wanted to talk about Diogo, to think about him. However, now that we’re talking, I can see that I’m not ready for it.

> "I’ve spent most of my life talking, but now I’m just hanging by a thread, lost for words – which is not at all normal. It’s crazy…”

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