Owen heart- broken over the tragic Jota loss

AS a father, Liverpool and England legend Michael Owen was especially heartbroken by the untimely death of 28-year-old Reds' forward Diogo Jota and his 25-year-old brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain on Thursday.

- ROWAN CALLAGHAN

"I heard the news while I was up in the sky flying over to Durban. It's just the most tragic, most awful news you can hear, really. My first thoughts are with the family," a visibly pained Owen said at Sibaya Casino in Durban yesterday afternoon.

"Diogo was only married for about two weeks. He leaves behind a wife and three young children. Being a father myself, I can't imagine the pain they are going through."

He said the loss to the club, and the greater football family paled in comparison.

"When I first hear of things like this, that hopefully don't happen too often, I always try to refrain from thinking what they were like as a footballer and what they mean to a football club and things like that," the 45-year-old Owen told Independent Media Sports exclusively.