Trent Alexander-Arnold Reflects on Diogo Jota's Legacy at Anfield

Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed how an emotional return to Anfield after his move to Real Madrid helped him process the death of former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota.

Jota and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a car crash in Spain in July 2025, a tragedy that shook Liverpool and the wider football world. Alexander-Arnold was thousands of miles away at the time, in the United States with Real Madrid for the Club World Cup, and found himself grieving in isolation.

"I think that's what was difficult… going through it on your own," he told the Sunday Mirror. "Everybody else who had known him for that amount of time were all grouped together."

While his old teammates and staff gathered in Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold had to keep playing. Matches, travel, training. All with the news still raw and his closest football friends an ocean away.

"It was difficult, and then having to continue to play games and them being so far away was hard," he said.

The moment that began to change came when he finally walked back out at Anfield. No fanfare, no grand gesture. Just a personal pilgrimage.

"But coming back to Anfield and being able to go to the stadium and put some flowers down really helped me get that closure."

Alexander-Arnold and Jota shared five seasons together at Liverpool before the England right-back completed his move to Real Madrid in 2025. Their connection ran far deeper than simply lining up in the same side.

He described how the pair spoke "every day" and how their relationship was forged as much in the quiet corners of the training ground as under the floodlights.

"I was injured a couple of times when he was and we were doing our training to get back fit together, and we were both very competitive," Alexander-Arnold recalled.

The rehab room became their battleground. Little races. Small challenges. Constant one-upmanship.

"We would always, you know, have different competitions between ourselves. Those are the kind of memories that I’ll hold close to me."

What lingers most for him, though, is not the goals or the trophies, but Jota the person.

"He was just a really good guy. Like he was very honest. That’s one of the best attributes that anybody can have. He was hardworking. He loved what he did, and was a massive family man."

Liverpool have continued to ensure Jota’s name and legacy remain woven into the fabric of the club.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the crash, the club unveiled a permanent memorial at Anfield to Jota and his brother. The sculpture, titled Forever 20, was created by renowned sculptor Emma Rodgers. At its centre is a flowing heart, a nod to Jota’s trademark goal celebration and a symbol of the bond he forged with supporters.

"‘Forever 20’ will serve as a permanent symbol of love, unity and remembrance, and a place where everyone can reflect, remember and pay their respects," the club said in a statement.

For Alexander-Arnold, that place on Anfield’s concourse is now part of his own journey too — a fixed point he can return to in a career that keeps pulling him across continents, but never too far from the memory of the teammate he once spoke to every day.