Ruben Neves will take Diogo Jota’s No21 shirt for the Portuguese National team, it has been confirmed, after the forward’s tragic death last month.
Jota tragically died in a car accident in July along with his brother, André Silva.
The 28-year-old was on his way back to England to join up with the Liverpool team for pre-season after being advised against flying due to lung surgery.
The pair had just crossed the Spanish border when one of the wheels on the Portuguese star’s Lamborghini caught fire, diverting the vehicle off the road.
Ruben Neves will take Diogo Jota’s No21 shirt for the Portuguese National team it has been confirmed, after the forward’s tragic death last month
|Jota, who married childhood sweetheart Ruto Cardoso just 11 days prior to the accident, left behind three young children.
With Portugal due to play their first games since the forward’s tragic death, against Armenia and Hungary, boss Roberto Martinez confirmed that Neves will take the shirt left behind by Jota.
Diogo Jota helped Liverpool win the Premier League title last season before his tragic death at the age of 28 | PA“The No 21 jersey will go to Ruben Neves because, that way, that number will remain on the field and with all of us,” he confirmed.
Neves, who currently plays for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, played with Jota for three years at Wolves, with the pair achieving promotion to the Premier League together.
The midfielder also carried Jota’s coffin at his funeral just last month.
Ruben Neves carried Diogo Jota’s coffin at his funeral just last month
|GETTY
“He had a very close relationship with Diogo and is the ideal person to represent him,” Martinez continued.
“We know what Diogo meant to each of us and the impact he had on our lives. We want to honour his memory every day. He will be with us and will be another force helping us achieve our goals.
“Diogo's example is a light for us. We will carry his spirit in our hearts.
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“Diogo's absence is a factor of unity, motivation and responsibility, because Diogo wanted to win the World Cup. We are here to fight and achieve that dream.”
Neves was widely considered Jota’s best friend within the sport, with the pair having represented Portugal together for six years.
The former Wolves midfielder took to social media when learning of Jota’s death.
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Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota spent three years together at Wolves
|“Wherever you are I know you will read this, we were never this lame and I may now regret it a little, but you know what you mean to me as much as I know what I am to you,’ he wrote.
“More than a friendship, we're family, and we won't stop it just because now you decided to sign a contract a little further away from us!
“When I go to the selection, you'll still be next to me at the dinner table, on the bus, on the plane... you'll always be there with me as always.
“Let's keep laughing, making plans, sharing our life with each other. I'm going to make sure you're always present and I'll make sure that your loved ones never lack anything while you're there, far away but thinking of us, waiting for us.
“Life has brought us together and now it can’t tear us apart. We've achieved some great things together, we still have a lot to go, I know we can. From today on, you will enter the field with me and we will follow our path together, on the stage where we met.”