Andy Robertson Reveals Liverpool’s Heartbreaking Reality After Diogo Jota’s Death

The Reds suddenly had to focus on soccer after tragically losing their teammate last summer.

Andy Robertson’s final season at Liverpool was marred by tragedy. | Liverpool FC/Getty Images

Former Liverpool fullback Andy Robertson revealed just how “horrendous” the 2025–26 season was for the Reds in the aftermath of Diogo Jota’s untimely death, admitting the team “didn’t care about football.”

Jota and his brother André Silva tragically passed away in a car accident on July 3, 2025 while in the Spanish province of Zamora. Just six weeks later, Liverpool had to kick off their Premier League title defense without the Portugal international, who had spent the last five years making Anfield his home.

What soon unfolded was a tumultuous season for Liverpool, one that ended with a measly fifth-place finish, zero trophies and the eventual departures of Arne Slot, Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konaté and Robertson. So much emphasis was put on the team’s underperforming new signings or its failing tactics, but Robertson admitted the reality had little to do with soccer.

“It’s difficult to describe or talk about it, because what we went through was horrendous,” the Scotland international said of Jota’s death on the Stick to Football podcast. “If I’m talking about the new signings, they’re coming into a club that is heartbroken, and they’re trying.

“That’s when I felt so sorry for these guys because they had signed and they were signing for big money. If I’m talking about football, when it took them months to settle in, because we were like ghosts.

“We didn’t care about football. That was the truth of it. We didn’t care about football because we just lost one of our best mates in the changing room.”

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Robertson: Liverpool Lost Their ‘Edge’

Liverpool had a 2025–26 to forget. | Carl Recine/Getty Images

Just looking at Liverpool’s results last season in isolation, it was a mighty fall from grace for the then-English champions. Slot’s men won the league in 2024–25, spent close to £450 million ($600 million) last summer to bring in the likes of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké and then needed until the very last day of 2025–26 to simply qualify for the Champions League.

The club finished with 60 points, a staggering 25 behind title-winners Arsenal. The Reds went from losing four league matches in Slot’s debut campaign to suffering 12 Premier League defeats last season. Of those 12, half came in the first few months after Jota’s passing.

“All footballers have that edge, don’t we, and I think when you lose that edge, sometimes you can’t perform to your best,” Robertson continued. “I think last season we lost the edge. When I look back on it now, I think we lost that determination a little bit, because I know at times we were going, ‘What’s the point?’

“Look at what his family are going through, look at his kids, but we were grieving. It was our mate, at the end of the day. He’s not just a footballer to us. He was a teammate, a friend. He was everything. For us it was incredibly difficult.”

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Jota Immortalized at Anfield

Liverpool unveiled a touching memorial to the late brothers. | Liverpool FC/Handout/Getty Images

Jota’s memory and legacy remain at Anfield after his tragic death. Liverpool retired number 20 ahead of last season and played with a special honorary patch on their shirts.

The club also erected a permanent memorial named ‘Forever 20’ on 97 Avenue at Anfield. The tribute honors Jota and Silva, while also giving people a place to come and pay their respects to the late brothers.

The memorial is a reminder of the tragedy that loomed over the club in 2025–26, but more importantly, it’s a place that pays homage to the person Jota was—a player beloved by his family, teammates, both at Liverpool and with the Portugal national team, and the fans.

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