Diogo Jota’s wife Lute Cardoso was on the pitch during Liverpool’s 2-1 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, and their sons served as mascots for the match at Anfield.
In a heartfelt message on Instagram, Lute Cardoso thanked supporters for their compassion during an “incredibly difficult time”. Diogo Jota’s wife attended Anfield with their children for Saturday afternoon’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It was an emotional afternoon at Anfield, with their sons Dinis and Duarte serving as the mascots for the day. Before kick-off, the children joined Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa on the pitch for an emotional moment as the two Premier League clubs that Jota represented met for the first time since his death.
His widow Rute, whom he married two weeks before the fatal accident, watched from the stands. The audience responded with an emotional performance of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
read more: Diogo Jota’s sons join Liverpool and Wolves stars in emotional tribute to late forwardread more: Liverpool and Wolves pay emotional tribute to Diogo Jota with his widow and children at Anfield
Van Dijk then guided Diniz and Duarte into the Kop and they exchanged a kickabout as the supporters applauded. Earlier, Wolves fans gathered at the Jota memorial outside Anfield, where a number of memorabilia were left in his honour.
Liverpool won 2-1 with goals from Ryan Gravenbirch and Florian Wirtz. Grabenbirch marked the finish line with Jota’s iconic baby shark celebration.
The club released emotional videos of Jota’s children acting as mascots, including footage of Van Dijk hugging Route before the match. After the match, Jota’s widow shared a heartfelt photo of their children on Instagram.
She said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the club and all our fans for the love, respect and support you have shown us during this incredibly difficult time. Your messages and gestures have meant more than words can express.”
The Reds captain said it was an “honour” to lead Jota’s sons onto the pitch before kick-off. In comments on the club’s official website, he explained: “It was a real honor for me and Ali[Becker]to welcome the players together.
“I think that was something I was really looking forward to.Obviously, after talking to Luthe and my family, it was something I was really looking forward to.
“It’s going to be emotional, but I think it’s something that the boys will remember forever. Hopefully there’s more to come for them and they can continue to enjoy Liverpool because it’s a huge place for them. And Diogo will be with us forever. I was very proud to be with them and I think the fans appreciated that.”
Fans at Anfield continue to pay tribute to Jota through a moving ceremony in which they sing his name in the 20th minute of each match, paying tribute to his shirt number which has been retired by the club in the player’s memory. The comments section of her Instagram post was flooded with heartfelt tributes to the family from supporters.
One person wrote: “It was great to see you all at Anfield today. I hope I made you all proud. Diogo was definitely smiling as he watched his sons run at Anfield from over there.”
Another added: “We want you to know that we love you so much and that you will never walk alone.” And a third wrote: “God bless you and your family. We love him always. YNWA.”
Jota’s former Wolves and Portugal teammate Sa was also among those who left a heart emoji at the bottom of the post. Kostas Tsimikas, currently on loan at Roma from Liverpool, wrote: “Forever.”
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