Arne Slot confirms Liverpool will pay out Diogo Jota’s contract to his family

The Portugal striker, 28, died in a car crash with his brother Andre Silva on July 3, just 11 days after the father of three had married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso.

It was reported in Portugal at the time that Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owners, had committed to paying out the rest of Jota’s £140,000-a-week deal which was to run until 2027.

In an interview with TNT Sports, Slot has confirmed that to be the case, as he revealed: “I said how proud I felt about how the fans reacted and the ownership.

“Owners are mainly criticised, like managers, but the way they’ve handled this situation by paying his wife and his children all the money from the contract is − maybe people think it’s normal, but it is not in football.

Andy Robertson does not think Liverpool will get over death of Diogo Jota

“The way the fans conducted themselves after that tragedy, how many flowers there were, all the memorials, I can almost get emotional thinking about it. It’s unbelievable what our fans have done and our players as well, the way they have conducted themselves in and around the funeral.

“And then we have to train again. There are moments where I feel: ‘What must his wife and his children feel now?’ It sounds so hard but our life continues. People expect from me that I prepare them forever and that sometimes feels a bit difficult knowing how hard it is for the family and for the parents in the phase they are still going through and will go through for the rest of their lives.”

Liverpool have retired Jota’s number 20 shirt in his memory and Chelsea players also donated a portion of their Club World Cup prize fund bonus to his family.

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