Jurgen Klopp has admitted he is still coming to terms with the passing of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who died alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain in 2025

Jürgen Klopp has revealed he was determined to bring Diogo Jota to Liverpool, and confesses he remains unable to come to terms with the loss of such a beloved figure within his Reds squad.

Jota arrived as something of an unexpected acquisition from Wolves in September 2020, joining a Liverpool side fresh from claiming the Premier League crown and boasting one of the most formidable and settled attacking trios in global football in Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

The Portugal international would subsequently enhance the trio and ultimately replace Firmino and Mane in Klopp's thinking, before securing a Premier League championship of his own under Arne Slot in 2025.

That triumph arrived mere weeks prior to Jota's devastating death alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain, and in a new biography honoring the player's legacy, Klopp recounts how he needed to persuade others at Anfield regarding the acquisition of the attacker.

"I was watching a Wolves match," recalls Klopp in 'Diogo Jota: Forever In Our Hearts' from Reach Sport, which is available now. "When Diogo drifted to the left, using his physicality, showing refined technique and tremendous power. I immediately thought, 'I want this player.'

"It was a gut feeling, the sort that you can usually rely on.

"Over the years, I've learnt that if you see certain things in a footballer – certain actions – they can tell you a great deal about the person. And there have only been very rare cases where I've been disappointed or come to realise, later on, that they were actually completely different.

"Normally when I sign a player, the process is different. I work closely with the scouts and sporting directors, I tell them which position I need to strengthen, and they come back to me with some options. In Diogo's case, it was me who took the initiative. I asked them to put together some material about him. I told them I wanted to take a closer look at him, and that I was excited about his attributes.

"We needed versatile players, and Diogo could play in several positions. And he had the right attitude and mentality for a club like Liverpool."

Klopp admits he continues to struggle with the loss of Jota at just 28 years of age, and finds it challenging to discuss the passing of the husband and father of three.

"I'm 58 years old. I know that people die, that this is part of life," he said. "Once you reach a certain age, we have to accept that these things happen. But when I heard about Diogo's accident, I was in shock and I couldn't even speak. I didn't ask how, I didn't ask where; I just stopped what I was doing and tried to come to terms with it. To this day, I must admit, I still haven't really managed to do that.

"When my assistant Danielle asked me if I was available to have this conversation – to contribute to this book – I said yes, that I wanted to talk about Diogo, to think about him. However, now that we're talking, I can see that I'm not ready for it.

"I've spent most of my life talking, but now I'm just hanging by a thread, lost for words – which is not at all normal. It's crazy..."