James Milner’s homage to Diogo Jota
James Milner announced that he would catch up with the former teammate from Liverpool Diogo Jota the night before his death.
Jota died on July 3 after a car accident in Spain, which also called for his brother Andre Silva’s life.
Since then, Liverpool has confirmed that Jotas No. 20 shirt is retired in all their men’s, women and youth teams.
In the meantime, Milner, who also took over the shirt number for Brighton this season, gave an uptake with Jota the night before his death.
He said to The Athletic: “Nothing big, just check in and asked each other how things went …”
When Milner heard the news on Brighton’s training grounds the next morning, he added: “Someone asked:” Is that true? “And I didn’t know at that time.
“I loved the guy, absolutely loved it. I loved him as a player, loved him even more as a teammate and friend, absolutely loved him.
“Carlos [Baleba] Wanted to change his number, so the No. 20 was available and it felt the right thing for me. Every day, when I put on my kit, I will think of him.
“We were only three seasons together in Liverpool and you may not have thought that we had a lot together – different nationalities, very different age groups – but we got on immediately.
“Maybe it was because we both were so persistent. To be honest, people say, I’m persistent, but Jots could give me a run for my money.
“He was an incredible guy, one of my favorite teammates that I played throughout my time.
“He was always ready to laugh and was always on the way.
