Robertson: We Didn't Care About Football After Diogo Jota's Death, It Affected New Signings

The tragic death of Diogo Jota profoundly impacted Liverpool's performance last season, particularly affecting new, high-profile signings like Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz. Former Reds defender Andrew Robertson revealed that after the shock, none of the players "cared" about football, which consequently hindered the new arrivals. The Portuguese international, along with his brother Andre Silva, died in a car accident in July 2025 while traveling through Spain on their way back to England for pre-season training. Liverpool began the new season as reigning Premier League champions, but Robertson admitted that following Jota's death, football ceased to be a priority for any player who knew him.

“It’s truly difficult to describe or even talk about, because what we went through was horrific. Specifically regarding the new signings, they arrived at a club that was shattered. They tried their best. That’s precisely why I felt so sorry for those lads, because they were brought in for a lot of money. It took them months to settle because we didn't care; football didn't matter to us. That was the honest truth. We didn't care about football because we had just lost one of our best friends in the dressing room. That’s why I probably have so much sympathy, from a footballing perspective, for the new signings, because I think they joined a team that was… we had been elite in everything we did for years. And perhaps we would have continued to be, had that not happened. Then they started receiving a lot of criticism. So, I believe these lads will do very well at Liverpool in the future. I would treat the current season as their first true season.”

For us, Jota wasn't just a footballer; he was a friend. It was incredibly tough. The week before he passed away, I was at his wedding. So, that's one of the hardest things you can ever go through. To see him on the happiest day of his life, and then the very next week, to see his family torn apart.

“We talked a lot during pre-season. The manager was truly great, I have to admit,” Andy Robertson recalled. “Our training was minimal because – let’s be fair to Arne – he was saying, ‘If you don’t want to train, don’t train.’”