Background and career
Diogo José Teixeira da Silva (4 December 1996 – 3 July 2025), commonly known as Diogo Jota, was a Portuguese professional footballer who played as a forward and winger. He was known for his finishing, pace, dribbling ability, and work rate. Jota started his career with Paços de Ferreira, before signing for La Liga club Atlético Madrid in 2016. After two seasons in the Primeira Liga, he was consecutively loaned to Primeira Liga club Porto in 2016 and EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2017. Having helped them gain promotion to the Premier League, he joined the club in 2018 for a reported €14 million and made 131 appearances for them, scoring 44 goals. In 2020, he signed for Liverpool for a fee reported to be £41 million. He played 182 games and scored 65 goals over five seasons for Liverpool, winning the Premier League in 2025, as well as one FA Cup and two EFL Cup titles. As a Portugal youth international, Jota represented his country at under-19, under-21, and under-23 levels. He made his senior international debut in November 2019 and was chosen in the squads for two UEFA European Championships (2020 and 2024), but missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury. He also won the UEFA Nations League in 2019 and 2025. On 3 July 2025, Jota and his brother André Silva died in a car accident in Cernadilla, Spain. The death was followed by Liverpool retiring his number 20.
Jota was born on 4 December 1996 in the parish of Massarelos, Porto, Portugal, and grew up in Gondomar, also in the Porto metropolitan area. He played for local club Gondomar S.C. between the ages of 9 and 17, and in 2022, the academy was named after him. Having been rejected by larger clubs due to his small frame, Jota signed for Paços de Ferreira's youth setup in 2013. He was promoted to the main squad at the start of the 2014–15 season, and made his senior debut on 19 October 2014 by starting in a 4–0 home win against Atlético de Reguengos for the Taça de Portugal. During the season, he had a one-month absence from training after he was diagnosed with a heart condition. Jota first appeared in the Primeira Liga on 20 February 2015, coming on as a late substitute for Diogo Rosado in a 2–2 home draw against Vitória de Guimarães. He scored his first goals in the competition on 17 May, netting a brace in a 3–2 home success over Académica de Coimbra and becoming the youngest player ever to score for the club in the top tier in the process. On 30 May 2015, Jota signed a new five-year deal with Paços, keeping him tied up until 2020. In the first game of the campaign, a 1–0 win over Académica at the Estádio da Mata Real on 17 August, he was sent off at the end for pushing Hugo Seco; Ricardo Nascimento was also sent off for retaliating on his teammate's behalf. During the season, manager Jorge Simão said that Jota would be the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo, a comparison that stunned the young player. Uniquely for a first-team player, Jota lived in a club dormitory while at Paços de Ferreira. This living arrangement was to avoid distractions while learning foreign languages, in preparation for a possible move abroad.
On 14 March 2016, Jota agreed to a five-year contract with Atlético Madrid effective as of 1 July. On 26 August, however, he was quickly loaned out back to Portugal to play for Porto. On 1 October, Jota scored a first-half hat-trick in a 4–0 away victory against Nacional. He also took part in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, scoring his first goal in the competition on 7 December in a 5–0 home victory against Leicester City.
On 25 July 2017, Jota signed for EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal on 15 August, in a 3–2 away win over Hull City. On 30 January 2018, it was announced that a permanent deal with Jota had been agreed for a reported €14 million, being made effective on 1 July. He scored a career-best 17 league goals in his first year, ranking fifth in the league top scorer charts, as Wolves achieved promotion to the Premier League as champions; due to English Football League regulations, he wore his legal surname on his jersey in the Championship but was able to change it to "Diogo J" after the feat. Jota made his debut in the Premier League on 11 August 2018, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–2 home draw against Everton. He scored his first goal in the competition on 5 December, helping the hosts come from behind to beat Chelsea 2–1. His second came four days later, in a win at Newcastle United by the same scoreline. On 19 January 2019, Jota scored three times in the 4–3 home victory over Leicester City – his second career hat-trick. In the process, he became only the second Portuguese player to achieve the feat in the Premier League after Cristiano Ronaldo 11 years earlier. This was a first-ever for the club in the competition and a first for the club in the top flight of English football since John Richards, against the same opposition, in the Football League First Division in October 1977. On 16 March 2019, Jota scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win against Manchester United in the 2018–19 FA Cup, to help Wolves reach their first semi-final in the competition since 1997–98.
On 25 July 2019, Jota scored in a 2–0 win over Northern Irish club Crusaders in the Europa League second qualifying round, Wolves' first European goal since October 1980, and in the next round on 15 August, he scored an overhead kick to conclude a 4–0 (8–0 aggregate) victory over Pyunik. In the final Europa League group stage game at home to Beşiktaş on 12 December 2019, Jota replaced compatriot Rúben Neves as a 56th-minute substitute with the game goalless, scored after 72 seconds and completed a hat-trick within twelve minutes as Wolves ran out 4–0 victors. The following 20 February, he netted another treble in a win by the same score over Espanyol in the first leg of the last 32 of the tournament. His 131st and last appearance for Wolves was as a second-half substitute in their Europa League quarter-final against Sevilla on 11 August 2020; his 44th and final goal for the club in a 3–0 league victory over Everton on 12 July.
On 19 September 2020, Jota joined Liverpool on a long-term deal, reportedly for a £41 million transfer fee, rising to £45 million with potential add-ons. The club had become intrigued by Jota during his time at Porto, with an official report prepared on the player's display throughout the 2018–19 season, though the decision was made to continue monitoring at the time due to the recent nature of the player's permanent move to Wolves. Manager Jürgen Klopp made the final decision to sign Jota when, in early 2020, he was given an account of Jota's traits and abilities over the course of 15 games, and ultimately selected him from a list including three other attackers to join the club. He made his debut in the EFL Cup five days later, coming on as a second-half substitute against Lincoln City in a 7–2 win. On 28 September, he scored on his Premier League debut for the club, with the third in a 3–1 win against Arsenal at Anfield. Jota scored the club's 10,000th goal in their history when he netted the opener against Midtjylland in the UEFA Champions League group stage, and scored a hat-trick on 3 November in a 5–0 win at Atalanta in the same competition. In doing so, he became the first player since Robbie Fowler in 1993 to score 7 goals in his first 10 Liverpool appearances. On 22 November, Jota scored the second goal in a 3–0 victory against Leicester City, becoming the first Liverpool player to score in each of his first four home matches in the Premier League. For his performances in October, Jota was awarded Liverpool Player of the Month by the club's supporters. On 9 December, Jota suffered a leg injury during a UEFA Champions League match against Midtjylland, in a dead rubber match, sidelining him for three months. Jota ended his debut season at the club with nine league goals, including a back heel in a 4–2 away win against Manchester United, which helped Liverpool finish third in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League.
