{"id":11346,"date":"2025-07-05T23:22:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T03:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/07\/05\/ruben-neves-supports-diogo-jotas-funeral-as-a-disabled-person-following-al-hilals-club-world-cup-match\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T23:22:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T03:22:00","slug":"ruben-neves-supports-diogo-jotas-funeral-as-a-disabled-person-following-al-hilals-club-world-cup-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/07\/05\/ruben-neves-supports-diogo-jotas-funeral-as-a-disabled-person-following-al-hilals-club-world-cup-match\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruben Neves Supports Diogo Jota\u2019s Funeral as a Disabled Person Following Al Hilal&#8217;s Club World Cup Match"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo traveled to Portugal following a 2-1 defeat against Fluminense in the Club World Cup quarterfinals to attend the funeral of their former teammate Diogo Jota. Neves was reportedly close to Jota, who tragically passed away in a car accident alongside Spanish player Andre Silva.<\/p>\n<p>At just 28, Jota&#8217;s life was cut short, while Silva was only 26.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Before facing Fluminense, Neves paid tribute to Jota via social media.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"content-blockquote\">\n<div class=\"blockquote\">\n<p>&#8220;No matter where you are, I know you&#8217;re seeing this. We weren&#8217;t the types to express ourselves openly, and now I find myself regretting that,&#8221; Neves shared in an Instagram update. &#8220;But you know how much you mean to me, just like I know what you felt.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"content-blockquote\">\n<div class=\"blockquote\">\n<p>&#8220;When I represent the National Team, you&#8217;re with me at dinners, on buses, and planes&#8230; as always, you&#8217;re part of me,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We keep sharing laughs, making plans, and living life together. I ensure you&#8217;re always present in spirit, and while you&#8217;re away, I think about you as we look out for your family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Before the Club World Cup match commenced, emotions ran high as Neves and Cancelo observed a moment of silence for their late teammate.<\/p>\n<p>Players and staff from Liverpool F.C., where Jota played in the Premier League, also traveled to Portugal for the funeral, including Captain Virgil van Dijk and manager Arne Slot.<\/p>\n<p>Jota joined Liverpool in 2020, making a significant impact with 47 goals and 15 assists across 79 appearances, culminating in a Premier League title in the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Gondmer, Portugal - July 5: Liverpool FC football players Virgil van Dik and Andrew Robertson have a flower tribute read \" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"713\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/do7oi__ddAexkHtjyKqOnQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcxMztjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-07\/0ed41740-59a2-11f0-9fb5-64e335e93e19\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"><\/dialog><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p>Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson of Liverpool FC carry the floral tribute for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva at their funeral in Gondomar, Portugal. (Photo: Octavio Passos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"caption-credit\">    (Octavio Passos via Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jota&#8217;s passing resonated globally on Friday. During the Club World Cup clash against Chelsea&#8217;s Palmeiras, his Portuguese teammate Pedroneto honored him by carrying jerseys inscribed with the names Diogo and Andre onto the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>In Wimbledon, Portuguese tennis players Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral wore black ribbons during their matches as a sign of respect.<\/p>\n<p>At a recent concert in Cardiff for their reunion tour, the rock band Oasis displayed Jota&#8217;s image in his Liverpool jersey on stage.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation into the accident that claimed Jota and Silva&#8217;s lives is still unfolding, with authorities yet to confirm who was driving the vehicle or whether a blown tire may have contributed to the crash. The Lamborghini was engulfed in flames upon the fire department&#8217;s arrival at the site.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Spanish civil security later verified to the Associated Press that both Jota and Silva died in the tragic incident, and their remains were returned to Portugal for burial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script> <\/p>\n<p>**Fan Take:** This tragic event highlights the fragility of life, even for athletes at the peak of their careers. It serves as a somber reminder to soccer fans about the bonds of friendship and community that exist within the sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo traveled to Portugal following a 2-1 defeat against Fluminense in the Club World Cup quarterfinals to attend the funeral of their former teammate Diogo Jota. Neves was reportedly close to Jota, who tragically passed away in a car accident alongside Spanish player Andre Silva. At just 28, Jota&#8217;s life was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[795,913,3353,3542,40,3541,3544,3409,285,2183,46,3543,495,45,2693,42],"class_list":{"0":"post-11346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-club","9":"tag-cup","10":"tag-diogo","11":"tag-disabled","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-funeral","14":"tag-hilals","15":"tag-jotas","16":"tag-match","17":"tag-neves","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-person","20":"tag-ruben","21":"tag-soccer","22":"tag-supports","23":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}