Wolves have shared a moving tribute video dedicated to former fan favourite Diogo Jota after his death.
The Premier League club posted a video more than five minutes in length celebrating his highlights with the club and narrated mostly by old comments from him.
Fans on social media praised a ‘beautiful tribute’ but are asking the club to go one step further and retire the number 18 shirt which he wore for three seasons at Molineux.
Jota joined Wolves on loan from Atletico Madrid in 2017 and helped them win the Championship title before spending another two full seasons with them permanently.
All in all, he scored 44 goals in 131 games for Wolves as they got promoted, then finished seventh twice and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2019-20.
He became a modern hero for the Midlands side, breaking numerous records before his £41million move to Liverpool in 2020, where he went on to win the Premier League.
Jota scored back-to-back hat-tricks against Besiktas and Espanyol at Molineux in the Europa League, becoming the club’s first player to do that.
That three-goal salvo against Besiktas came in 11 minutes, the club’s quickest-ever European hat-trick.
It was testament to his determination to play in England that Jota swapped Champions League football with Atletico for the Championship.
The Portuguese scored 18 goals in his first season with the club, being named their top scorer and establishing himself as a much-loved star.
Wolves’ video was captioned simply but sweetly: ‘You made us happy, Diogo. We will never forget you.’
The clip traces right from Jota’s first day at the training ground, holding up the shirt and giving his first interview to fans, all the way through to their Championship title celebrations, Premier League highs, and his final days at the club.
Right on brand for a man who was widely known for being devoted to his family, one of the interviews included features Jota talking about his loved ones.
‘My family, my parents, always support me,’ the forward can be heard saying.
‘They better understand my position. THey are always supportive and that’s what I care about.’
He added: ‘It was not an easy decision (joining Wolves). Many people talked about me destroying my career because it was two or three steps down.
‘I felt that if I came there and did good things, it would be a step back to go in front, and I’m very proud to make that decision and do good things with this club.’
At the end of the video, Wolves show a picture of Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who died alongside him in the early hours of Thursday morning after their car accident.
