Credit: Imago

Jack Dawson

Sun 13 July 2025 13:21, UK

Diogo Jota’s passing in early July shocked football fans around the globe.

The Portuguese international sadly died aged 28 years old in a car accident alongside his brother, Andre.

The heartbreaking news quickly led to tributes to Jota as fans and pundits alike celebrated his footballing career.

Under Arne Slot, the attacker played a role in the Reds’ Premier League title victory last season, where he made 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals.

However, Jota also had a successful career outside of Liverpool, playing for clubs such as Porto and Wolves.

Diogo Jota’s early career

Jota started his playing career at Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreira, where he broke through their academy.

Here, he quickly showed how much potential he had, winning the SJPF Young Player of the Month in October and November 2015 before winning the Primeira Liga Goal of the Month in February 2016.

After netting 12 goals in the 2015/16 campaign, he earned a move to Atletico Madrid before Jota was immediately sent on loan to Porto.

While this move didn’t lead to much success, the attacker still netted another nine goals, including one in the Champions League.

Wolves 2017-20

Upon returning to Atletico Madrid in 2017, Jota was soon sent out on loan again, this time to Championship side Wolves.

The move was no doubt a shock, with the attacker already possessing a strong CV early into his career.

As a result, he was an instant hit at Molineux and scored an impressive 18 goals in all competitions.

This helped the Old Gold win the Championship title and return to the Premier League for the first time since 2012.

From here, he joined Wolves permanently for £12.1 million, ready for their return to the English top-flight.

For both Jota and Wolves, success continued into the 2018/19 campaign, with the attacker forming a clinical partnership with Raul Jimenez.

Together, the duo helped the West Midlands side finish seventh, despite only recently being promoted.

During this campaign, Jota produced multiple feats. The attacker netted a late hat-trick in the 4-3 victory over Leicester, becoming the first Wolves player to achieve this in Premier League history, and only the second Portuguese player behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

On top of this, he netted another late goal against Manchester United in the FA Cup to send the Old Gold to the semi-finals for the first time since 1998.

His final season at Wolves was his best yet, and Jota once again netted another hat-trick.

This time, it came in Europe, in a group stage match against Besiktas. The attacker was brought off the bench in the 56^th minute, with the match goalless.

Yet, after 12 minutes, Jota had netted a hat-trick, the quickest in the competition since 2014 at the time.

This feat was then repeated in the round of 32, as the Portuguese international hit another treble past Espanyol.

Jota’s appearances and goals for Wolves

Jota ended his time at Wolves in 2020 with a move to Liverpool. However, despite his short period at Molineux, he was undoubtedly a success.

The attacker walked away from the Old Gold with a Championship title and 44 goals in 131 matches.

On top of this, he led Wolves to back-to-back seventh-place finishes, the highest the club had ever finished in the Premier League.

Liverpool 2020-25

Jota joined a Liverpool team that had just won the Premier League title. However, he quickly found his role at Anfield.

The attacker netted Liverpool’s 10,000^th goal in their history in his debut season when he netted the opener against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League group stage.

From here, he netted yet another European hat-trick, as Jota struck three times against Atalanta in a 5-0 victory.

As a result, he became the first Liverpool player since Robbie Fowler in 1993 to net seven times in his first 10 matches.

In November, Jota broke another record, as he became the first Liverpool player to score in each of his first four home matches in the Premier League.

The 2021/22 campaign was arguably Jota’s best as he netted 21 times in all competitions. This helped Liverpool lift both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, the attacker’s first major domestic success of his career.

On top of this, Jota also scored in the 3-1 victory over Newcastle to secure the Merseyside club’s 2000^th top-flight victory.

From here, injuries began becoming an issue for Jota, and he only played 28 matches in the following campaign.

However, he would go on to have an excellent 2023/24 season where he helped Liverpool win the Carabao Cup once more.

In his final campaign, Jota finally got his hands on the Premier League trophy in what was no doubt a memorable season.

His last goal for Liverpool was also an important one as he scored the winner for the Reds in the 1-0 Merseyside derby truimph over Everton.

Jota’s appearances and goals for Liverpool

Throughout his five-year career at Liverpool, Jota proved himself to be a clinical attacker for the Reds.

The Portuguese international netted 65 times in 182 matches and won four trophies as a result.

Jota was no doubt part of a golden generation at Liverpool, where he helped the Merseyside club reach their heights once more and became a hero.

Portugal 2019-25

Internationally, Jota did not disappoint. The attacker made his debut in November 2019, coming on for Ronaldo in a 6-0 victory over Lithuania.

Before this, Jota was part of the squad that won the 2019/20 Nations League. While he did not make an appearance, the attacker was still awarded a medal.

As a result, he was named in the Euro 2020 squad and played in every match before Portugal were knocked out by Belgium.

Unfortunately, injuries ruled Jota out of the 2022 World Cup, but he went on to participate in the 2024 Euros.

In May 2025, Jota was once again part of the Portugal team that won the Nations League.

The attacker came off the bench in extra time before his country won the final on penalties in what proved to be his final match before the accident.

Jota earned 49 caps for Portugal, where he scored 14 goals for his nation.

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