Raul Jimenez Pays Touching Tribute to Former Teammate Diogo Jota During Gold Cup Final Glory

The soccer community has faced a challenging period following the tragic passing of Liverpool's Diogo Jota and his sibling, André Silva. However, the beautiful game has united in grief, with tributes pouring in from every continent.

During the Concacaf Gold Cup final between Mexico and the United States men's national team, forward Raúl Jiménez paid homage to Jota before the match began, displaying "Diogo J" and Jota's number 20 jersey as he entered the field for the national anthems.

Subsequently, after netting the leveling goal for Mexico in the 27th minute, Jiménez once again revealed Jota's shirt and sat down to recreate Jota's famous EA Sports FC video game celebration pose, joining Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembélé and Real Salt Lake's Diogo Gonçalves in honoring the late player during their goal celebrations.

Jiménez and Jota were teammates at Wolverhampton Wanderers in England between 2018 and 2020, before Jota transferred to Liverpool and Jiménez joined Fulham. During their stint at Wolverhampton, Jota found the net 33 times across 111 matches, while Jiménez scored 39 goals in 135 appearances.

This gesture adds to the overwhelming wave of solidarity from across the globe, featuring pre-match moments of silence in various leagues and black armbands being displayed from football stadiums to the Wimbledon tennis championships in England.

In the Gold Cup final, Jiménez aimed to capture his fourth trophy with Mexico's national squad, complementing a collection that features an Olympic gold medal, a Gold Cup victory, and a Concacaf Nations League triumph. Simultaneously, a Gold Cup success would represent international silverware in the same summer for both former teammates, as Jota had claimed the UEFA Nations League with Portugal.

After the Gold Cup concludes, Jiménez will return to Fulham for pre-season training before the Premier League campaign begins, which will certainly be an emotionally charged season throughout the league, especially for Liverpool supporters.