Mohamed Salah says the emotion around losing Diogo Jota following the striker’s sad passing has left him “frightened of going back to Liverpool after the break.”
Liverpool are expected to report back to the AXA Training Centre for a phased return to pre-season on Monday, with the decision made to postpone a planned start on Friday.
Players are likely to instead head to Portugal over the weekend to attend a funeral for Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who passed away in a car crash in Spain on Thursday morning.
Clearly the death of a teammate has affected the Liverpool squad and almost every player has now paid tribute to the No. 20 with messages on social media.
I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team mates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go… pic.twitter.com/TIEzpjOABr
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) July 4, 2025
Salah reflected on Jota’s passing in a post on X on Friday, writing: “I am truly lost for words.
“Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break.
“Team mates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.
“My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children.
“Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.”
Salah and Jota had been teammates for five years and were partnered in attack on 151 occasions, the Egyptian assisting 13 of his fellow striker’s 65 goals for the club.
The Portuguese will be missed greatly both on and off the pitch, with it clear that he was a hugely popular member of the squad who struck close relationships with many of those around him.
From the highs of the Premier League title celebrations – and for Jota, later marrying his partner of over a decade, Rute Cardoso, in Portugal – to these unfathomable lows, it will have a massive impact on Arne Slot‘s squad.
Grief affects people in very different ways but Salah’s fear of returning to the AXA Training Centre knowing Jota will not be there to greet him is understandable.
As he rightly says, the priority is honouring Jota and supporting his wife, children and the rest of his family – but that also extends to his friends, including those he shared the pitch with at Liverpool since 2020.
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