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Former Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson has opened up about just how "horrendous" the 2025–26 campaign was for the club following the tragic death of Diogo Jota, confessing that the squad simply "didn't care about football."
Jota and his brother André Silva were killed in a fatal car crash on July 3, 2025, in the Spanish region of Zamora. Barely six weeks later, Liverpool were forced to begin their Premier League title defense without the Portuguese star, who had called Anfield home for the previous five years.
What followed was a deeply troubled season for Liverpool, culminating in a disappointing fifth-place finish, no silverware, and the eventual exits of Arne Slot, Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, and Robertson himself. While much of the blame was directed at underperforming new recruits and tactical shortcomings, Robertson made clear the real issue had nothing to do with football.
"It's hard to put into words, because what we experienced was horrendous," the Scotland captain said of Jota's passing on the Stick to Football podcast. "If I'm talking about the new signings, they were walking into a club that was completely heartbroken, and they were doing their best.
"That's when I felt genuinely sorry for those lads, because they had signed for big money and had high expectations. In football terms, it took them months to find their feet, because we were like zombies.
"We didn't care about football. That was the honest truth. We didn't care about football because we had just lost one of our closest friends in that dressing room."
Robertson: Liverpool Lost Their 'Edge'
Looking at Liverpool's results from last season in isolation, it represented a dramatic collapse for the reigning English champions. Slot's side had claimed the title in 2024–25, then spent nearly £450 million ($600 million) over the summer to bring in the likes of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Hugo Ekitiké — only to need the final day of the 2025–26 season just to secure Champions League qualification.
The club ended the campaign on 60 points, a remarkable 25 adrift of title-winners Arsenal. Liverpool went from conceding just four league defeats in Slot's first season to suffering 12 Premier League losses last term — six of which came in the months immediately following Jota's death.
"Every footballer has that edge, and I think when you lose it, you can't perform at your best," Robertson went on. "I think last season we lost that edge. Looking back now, I believe we lost that drive and determination, because there were moments when we were thinking, 'What's the point?'
"Look at what his family were going through, look at his children — but we were grieving too. He was our mate, at the end of the day. He wasn't just a footballer to us. He was a teammate, a friend. He was everything. It was incredibly hard for all of us."
Jota Immortalized at Anfield
Jota's memory and legacy live on at Anfield following his untimely passing. Liverpool retired the number 20 shirt ahead of last season and wore a special commemorative patch on their kits throughout the campaign.
The club also unveiled a permanent memorial called 'Forever 20' on 97 Avenue at Anfield. The tribute honors both Jota and Silva, providing supporters with a dedicated space to come and pay their respects to the two brothers.
The memorial stands as a lasting reminder of the tragedy that cast a shadow over the club throughout 2025–26, but above all, it serves as a tribute to the person Jota truly was — a player cherished by his family, his teammates at Liverpool and with Portugal, and the supporters who adored him.