Liverpool retire jersey No.20 as mark of respect for Diogo Jota

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Liverpool retire Diogo Jota No.20 jersey Liverpool's Diogo Jota gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)

Liverpool announced that the club has decided to retire the No 20 jersey which was the number Diogo Jota wore when representing the club. The 28-year-old Jota died along with his brother Andre Silva, also a football player, in a car crash near the northwestern city of Zamora, Spain.

The number will be retired across all levels of the club, including their women’s team as well as their academy team. “It was the number he wore with pride and distinction, leading us to countless victories in the process — and Diogo Jota will forever be Liverpool Football Club’s number 20,” the Premier League club said in a statement.

Liverpool said it made the decision after consulting with his family.

“As a club, we were all acutely aware of the sentiment of our supporters and we felt exactly the same way. I believe this is the first time in Liverpool Football Club’s history that such an honour has been bestowed upon an individual. Therefore, we can say this is a unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person. By retiring this squad number, we are making it eternal, and therefore never to be forgotten,” said Michael Edwards, CEO of football for Liverpool’s owner Fenway Sports.

Liverpool FC will retire the number 20 jersey across all levels of the club in honour and memory of Diogo Jota.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 11, 2025

Jota had just completed the most successful season of his career — helping Liverpool to a record-equaling 20th English league title and winning the UEFA Nations League with Portugal.

In total, he played 182 games for Liverpool and scored 65 goals, while winning the FA Cup and English League Cup along with the Premier League.

Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who played for Penafiel in the Portuguese second division, were believed to have been driving to a ferry in Spain to travel to Britain when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. They were buried in their hometown of Gondomar in northern Portugal last week.

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