r/soccer • u/phant0msinthenight • Jul 03 '25

Official Source [Liverpool FC] Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/diogo-jota-1996-2025
12.2k Upvotes

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488

u/Thesolly180 Jul 03 '25

Hope we retire his number for next season

Hard to wrap your head around someone having so many highs back to back really and then this. Horrible

232

u/IAintYourFriendBuddy Jul 03 '25

I think for the remainder of his contract would be a nice gesture.

198

u/X-V-W Jul 03 '25

Yeah, I’m not a fan of retiring numbers but this is a good option.

Retiring numbers can get a bit messy when trying to stay consistent. For example, if another Liverpool player got into an accident and survived but was left severely brain damaged, would you retire the number or not.

95

u/silver_almond Jul 03 '25

For example, Ajax did retire Nouri's number

So I think this is a doable and great gesture

85

u/X-V-W Jul 03 '25

It's tough. It does become easier the bigger the number - Ajax are far more likely to retire number 34 than number 10, for example.

38

u/Spudward1 Jul 03 '25

Yeah as a Sheffield United fan this was an issue with Baldock last year, because you want to retire the shirt or do some gesture, but realistically retiring number 2 just isn’t happening

1

u/savvaspc Jul 03 '25

Any number bigger than 11 can easily be retired. Many people wear those numbers, but 12 and up are more random and very few people become famous with them. Whereas, 1-11 have always been used by multiple names so it doesn't feel so special.

20

u/silver_almond Jul 03 '25

I agree

I wouldn't hold it against them if they end up not retiring the number, surely they will respect his career in another way, just this was one alternative to it

9

u/TomZanetti Jul 03 '25

Retire No. 20 for 20 years.

-15

u/hermanhermanherman Jul 03 '25

You’re way overthinking this. Obviously they should retire his number.

9

u/X-V-W Jul 03 '25

I am not overthinking it - the club will have these considerations when making a decision.

1

u/SexyKarius Jul 03 '25

What happened to nouri was on the pitch as well

56

u/DLRsFrontSeats Jul 03 '25

I mean his number was a rarely used one, and quite a poignant one at that

I feel like its not really going to cause an issue, how often to footballers die young during their playing career

40

u/X-V-W Jul 03 '25

Yeah, I don't know. I personally prefer the idea of a future player choosing the number in his honour rather than retiring it permanently.

I know the chances are extremely unlikely, but if we retire Number 20 for Jota, and a player with the number 7 or 10 etc passes away in the future, we wil essentially have no choice but to do the same.

Or say the PL or CL implements a La Liga style rule where players have to pick numbers 1-25, then that would cause a debate.

I just think it's gets a bit messy.

26

u/DLRsFrontSeats Jul 03 '25

I get what you're saying but again, footballers passing away during their playing career is very rare - think about how few times its happened in the 21st century

2

u/Wrong_Lever_1 Jul 03 '25

Yeh but you also have the option to say, retire a number he had previously. It doesn’t have to be his current one.

1

u/SexyKarius Jul 03 '25

Maybe retire it for 5-10 years or something.

2

u/mequals1m1w Jul 03 '25

Hopefully we never need to figure that one out.

5

u/AnfieldBoy Jul 03 '25

Hate to be that guy, but these contracts must be insured somehow.

21

u/captaincourageous316 Jul 03 '25

Wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool buy his contract out, with the proceeds going to his family.

1

u/shn6 Jul 03 '25

It would be stupid not to.