'EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE'

DIOGO Jota and his brother Andre Silva have been laid to rest at a service in Portugal on Saturday morning.

- By PAUL GORST LFC Correspondent [e-mail] @PTGorst

A funeral took place for the Liverpool striker and his younger sibling at Igreja Matriz de Gondomar (the Mother Church of Gondomar) at 10am and was attended by a large contingent from the club, including captain Virgil van Dijk, Andy Roberson and Darwin Nunez.

Alexis Mac Allister, Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley were also three more who were present alongside Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and head coach Arne Slot.

Sporting director Richard Hughes and CEO of football Michael Edwards were in attendance.

Robertson, a close friend of Jota, and Van Dijk were seen carrying floral tributes to the club's No.20 and his 25-year-old brother shortly before the service got under way.

The Reds players were joined by former colleagues Caoimhin Kelleher, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho, who was at Friday's wake alongside Manchester

City duo Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias, who were Portugal international colleagues of Jota.

Rute Cardoso, who married her long-term partner less than two weeks ago, was in attendance and the two players' parents Joaquim and Isabel Silva.

Thiago Alcantara, who joined the club at the same time as Jota, in September 2020, was there with his wife, Julia.

Hundreds more gathered to pay their respects to the popular forward and his bother, who played for second-tier side Penafiel, and while only family and friends were permitted inside the church on the day, a livestream of the service was available for the public.

The Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, said in the eulogy: “Our faith in God is going to give a new life to these two deceased young men. We must have faith and hope and we have to believe in resurrection, in a new life. Those who believe, they will live eternally.

“I could say a lot about Diogo and Andre, their father prayed in the church and both Diogo and Andre made it [as professional footballers] because of their effort, their dedication, their sacrifices.