Chelsea striker Pedro Neto has been offered compassionate leave following the death of Diogo Jota, who he played alongside for both Wolves and Portugal.
Neto was a close friend of late Liverpool striker Jota and is currently on duty with Chelsea at the Club World Cup in the United States.
But the 25-year-old was not part of their training session on Thursday following the news of Jota’s passing and head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed he will be granted compassionate leave if he wishes.
“It’s a very sad day,” Maresca told reporters ahead of Chelsea‘s quarter-final against Palmeiras.
“I struggle to find words because it’s very difficult, the feeling that you have is of helplessness in this kind of situation.
“The only thing I can say is all my love to his family, the people in this moment. It’s a big tragedy for them.
“In terms of Pedro it is very sad, probably more than sad.
“It’s completely Pedro’s decision. I had a chat with Pedro and we support him. Any decision he will take is the correct one.
“It doesn’t matter if he’ll be on the pitch or not. We’ll see how he is feeling but, in any case, we’re going to support him.”
Jota and Neto shared the pitch together on 21 occasions, first as teammates at Wolves and then as part of the Portugal national team – most recently in a 3-1 win over Poland in October.
Chelsea signed the 25-year-old in a £54 million deal last summer and he has so far scored nine goals and assisted a further nine in 48 appearances.
It speaks to the significance of Jota’s passing that Maresca felt right to not only reflect on the news publicly but also to address the situation directly with Neto.
With a funeral for Jota and his brother Andre Silva taking place in the Portuguese municipality of Gondomar on Saturday it is possible that Neto departs the US in order to attend.
That is also likely to be the case for Jota’s teammates at Liverpool, who were due to report for the start of pre-season on Friday.
Liverpool have now postponed those plans for pre-season testing in the wake of Jota’s death, with their focus on honouring their late striker and affording his family the dignity and respect they deserve.
Fan Comments