'jota Was A Dream To Work With And A Pleasure To Call Friend'

Diogo Jota was "a dream to activity pinch and a pleasance to telephone a friend", says Conor Coady, who was Wolves skipper during nan Portuguese forward's 3 seasons astatine nan club.

Before joining Liverpool, Jota was portion of a Wolves broadside that won nan Championship successful 2017-18 and past went connected to suffice for nan Europa League pinch a seventh-placed vanished during their first play backmost successful nan Premier League.

Jota, aged 28, died successful a car crash connected Thursday on pinch his relative Andre Silva, who was 25.

Their funerals will return spot astatine 10:00 connected Saturday successful their hometown of Gondomar successful Portugal.

Coady, who began his profession astatine Liverpool and presently plays for Leicester City, heard astir his friend's decease while astatine pre-season training pinch nan Foxes.

"I deliberation we'll each retrieve wherever we were, but it goes bigger than football, what we're each emotion now," Coady told BBC Sport.

"This has deed everybody hard. And it will deed everybody difficult for a long, agelong clip because Diogo was a awesome quality being, an astonishing friend, an astonishing husband, an astonishing begetter and an absolute unthinkable footballer for each nan clubs he has played for.

"He was an unbelievable person. This is celebrating an unthinkable quality being. A quality being who should ne'er near america this early and this [early] into an astonishing career."

Jota joined Wolves from Spanish broadside Atletico Madrid astatine nan property of 20, initially connected indebtedness erstwhile they were still successful nan 2nd tier of English football.

The Portuguese guardant proved to beryllium a revelation astatine nan club, scoring 17 goals and providing six assists to thief Wolves decorativeness astatine nan apical of nan array during his debut campaign.

"You could spot it successful his first session, that tenacity and nan will to triumph was for illustration nary other," said 32-year-old Coady.

"He was nan bosom and psyche of nan dressing room. He had a quiet measurement of going astir himself. But you knew you could spell to him astir anything. For maine arsenic a captain, it was an honour and a dream to play pinch him."

Before moving to England, Jota had already played nether Wolves caput coach Nuno Espirito Santo while connected indebtedness astatine Porto, and he besides reunited pinch his erstwhile Porto and Portugal Under-21 team-mate Ruben Neves astatine nan club.

"He was calved to play successful nan Premier League but Wolves were successful nan Championship. I utilized to ever show young group they request to study from players for illustration Diogo and Ruben, who were brave capable to measurement into nan Championship to thief a nine who were struggling astatine that time," said Coady.

"He was brave capable to bring his puerility sweetheart to Wolverhampton and really bargain into nan civilization of England. He was specified an illustration for everybody.

"I perfectly loved him. As a captain, he was a dream to activity with. But it was a pleasance to telephone him a friend."

During a three-year enactment astatine Wolves, Jota made 131 appearances for nan club, scoring 44 goals, including consecutive hat-tricks successful nan 2019-20 Europa League victories complete Besiktas and Espanyol.

In September 2020, he joined Premier League champions Liverpool in a £41m deal, pinch Wolves leader Nuno saying Jota is leaving "knowing that it will ne'er beryllium forgotten, particularly by our fans, each nan memorable moments that Diogo provided".

"We were gutted we were losing him because he was that good," said Coady.

"But astatine nan aforesaid time, you gave him a large hug and you went, you cognize what mate, you merit it much than anyone. Go and bask yourself. Go and make a sanction for yourself astatine 1 of nan biggest clubs because you tin surely do that. And he has done for that a number of years."

Coady posted a moving tribute to his erstwhile team-mate connected his societal media relationship aft proceeding nan news, which he said he did while he "cried my eyes out".

In nan post, he describes really he felt grateful proceeding his kids opportunity "dad, you played pinch Jota" erstwhile nan Liverpool subordinate came up connected nan tv screens - a emotion he reiterated again.

"People look astatine shot and deliberation it's each astir rivalry. But watching him triumph nan Premier League pinch Liverpool, it filled maine pinch immense pridefulness - to opportunity I played pinch him and he has gone connected to do unthinkable things," said Coady.

"He took it by storm, for illustration he took america by storm. Like he past took nan Premier convention by storm. Like he past took Europa League by large wind pinch Wolves.

"He's past gone and done it pinch 1 of nan biggest clubs successful nan land. A singular footballer, but an moreover amended team-mate, which is 10 times much important than being a singular footballer for me."

Coady picked Jota's hat-tricks successful successive Europa Leagues games during nan 2019-20 play arsenic 1 of nan standout moments of his Wolves career.

"It was for illustration thing to him. It was for illustration it was dormant easy. That's really bully he was. It was for illustration he was meant to do it," said Coady.

He besides rates highly Jota's extremity against Manchester United astatine Molineux which sent Wolves into nan 2018-19 FA Cup semi-finals.

"He scored a extremity against Aston Villa successful nan Championship that was unbelievable but his extremity against United summed him up arsenic a footballer - his pace, his power, his method to decorativeness it pinch his near ft astatine adjacent post," Coady recalled.

"The infectious characteristic wrong a dressing room and really he helped maine arsenic a captain, really he helped america arsenic a team, conscionable being capable to stock a dressing room pinch a mate - it will unrecorded pinch maine forever.

"The full 3 years will unrecorded maine everlastingly and I'll make judge that my family and my kids will ever cognize nan stories astir maine being capable to stock nan transportation pinch him because he was an unthinkable fellow."

You tin perceive to nan afloat question and reply successful Saturday's 5 Live Sport from 11:00 BST.