True world champions: Chelsea to give their bonus to Jota's family

Chelsea is a great club. At the beginning of this century, many people didn’t like them when Roman Abramovich started pumping in millions and spending lavishly to create a new powerhouse in English football. It’s not as if Chelsea, before the Russian oligarch, was some irrelevant mid-table team, but when Roman arrived on his yacht and brought in Shevchenko, everything changed. In the meantime, the London Blues have become a classy club, no matter how many critics they still have. They proved it once again.

Enzo Maresca’s team recently won the newly concluded FIFA Club World Cup, a debut competition that FIFA tested this summer in the United States ahead of next year’s World Cup. Chelsea thrashed Paris Saint-Germain in the final (3–0) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and earned a total of 98,100,000 euros. The club decided to distribute 13,260,000 to the players as bonuses, and now they have made a move worthy of admiration — part of the money will go to the family of the tragically deceased Diogo Jota.

Milner's touching tribute to his late Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota

The Portuguese international and his brother Andre Silva died in a car accident in Zamora, Spain, on July 3, just ten days after Chelsea won the FIFA Club World Cup. Following an agreement within the club, 430,000 will be donated to the families of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva — the same amount that each player received as a bonus and reward for winning the competition. A big gesture, worthy of every praise.

Forever Liverpool's number 20

Liverpool has also taken several steps in honor of Diogo Jota. The number 20 shirt has been retired and will never be worn again, in memory of the tragically lost footballer who joined from Wolverhampton in 2020. At the first match of the new season against Bournemouth on Friday at Anfield, there will be a minute’s silence, while a statue of him is also planned at Anfield, for a player who scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the famous club from the English port city. Throughout the season, the left sleeve of the shirt will bear an emblem reading “Forever 20,” and the foundation of one of England’s greatest clubs will launch a football program in his honor and in his name. It will be an emotional occasion at the iconic English stadium for the first match of the new season.