Diogo Jota team-mate pays tribute to Liverpool hero after heartwarming Ousmane Dembele gesture

Diogo Jota team-mate pays tribute to Liverpool hero after heartwarming Ousmane Dembele gesture

Diogo Goncalves paid tribute to Diogo Jota by recreating his former Portugal Under-21s international team-mate's gamer celebration

Portugal and SL Benfica forward Diogo Goncalves celebrates with teammate Portugal and Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Diogo Jota after scoring a goal during the U21 International Friendly match between Portugal and Italy (Image: 2018 Gualter Fatia )

Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele both paid tribute to Diogo Jota after scoring in the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday (July 5). But they were not the only players to honour the Liverpool forward this weekend.

The 28-year-old was tragically killed in a car crash in the early hours of Thursday (July 3), along with his brother, Andre Silva.

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The brothers had been driving across Spain in order to catch a ferry to return to Merseyside for the start of Liverpool's pre-season only for their vehicle to veer off the road following a tyre blowout.

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Jota and Silva were laid to rest in their hometown of Gondomar on Saturday (July 5) with the majority of the Reds' squad travelling to Portugal for the pair’s funeral.

Tributes have flooded in from the world of football and beyond for the pair since their passing, with both Mbappe and Dembele honouring the Liverpool forward with their latest goal celebrations.

Mbappe celebrated his match-winning strike against Borussia Dortmund by doing a 20 gesture with his fingers, in reference to Jota’s shirt number, and praying.

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Meanwhile, Dembele had earlier celebrated his own effort against Bayern Munich by recreating Jota’s famous gamer goal celebration.

But the Frenchmen were not the only player to recreate the celebration in the United States, with one of Jota’s former team-mates doing the same in emotional scenes after scoring in Major League Soccer.

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Diogo Goncalves was on the scoresheet for Real Salt Lake as they ran out 3-2 winners in the early hours of Sunday morning (July 6).

The 28-year-old, who spent the 2018/19 season on loan at Nottingham Forest, played alongside Jota for Portugal Under-21s. The pair made 10 appearances together, producing four joint goal contributions in 2017 and 2018.

Goncalves scored an eye-catching goal for Salt Lake, running onto a through-ball before carrying it into the box, cutting inside onto his right foot and curling into the top corner.

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Diogo Gonçalves of Real Salt Lake pays tribute to Liverpool forward Diogo Jota by recreating his former Portugal Under-21s team-mate's goal celebration after scoring the team's second goal during the MLS match between Real Salt Lake and St. Louis CITY SC at America First Field (Image: 2025 Laura Lee - Real Salt Lake )

The emotional Portuguese then ushered his team-mates away as he celebrated by recreating Jota’s gamer celebration before pointing to the sky in honour of his former team-mate.

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