Andy Robertson reveals how Diogo Jota death impacted Liverpool
AnfieldFormer Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has opened up on how the tragic passing of teammate Diogo Jota deeply impacted the squad last season.
The Portuguese star was killed in a car crash in July 2025 alongside his brother Andre Silva while travelling across Spain to return for pre-season training.
Losing the edge at Anfield
Speaking on the Stick to Football Podcast, premiered on Disney+, Robertson admitted that the heartbroken squad simply stopped caring about football in the wake of the tragedy.
He explained that the team lost their elite standards and competitive determination because they were grieving the loss of a close friend.
Speaking to the Stick to Football Podcast, Robertson said:
It’s difficult to describe or talk about, really, because what we went through, it was horrendous. Say if I’m talking about the new signings, they’re coming into a club that is heartbroken.
The left-back expressed deep sympathy for new players arriving for big money during such a dark period. He noted that it took them months to settle because football was no longer the main priority.
Sympathy for new signings
Robertson believes the fresh faces faced unfair criticism during a campaign where the whole club was dealing with unimaginable grief.
He feels those players deserve to have this past year written off as a settling-in period rather than a fair reflection of their abilities.
Speaking to the Stick to Football Podcast, Robertson said:
They’re trying, and that’s where I felt so sorry for these guys because they’d signed and they were signing for big money and all that, if I’m talking about football.
The emotional toll was made even heavier by how quickly life changed, with Robertson noting he had attended Jota’s wedding just a week before the fatal accident.
Managerial support and struggles
Arne Slot ultimately lost his job at the end of a difficult campaign that saw the defending Premier League champions finish fifth in the table.
Robertson praised the former manager for handling the squad with immense compassion during pre-season and allowing players space to grieve.
Speaking to the Stick to Football Podcast, Robertson said:
We spoke a lot. The manager was really good, to be fair. Like our pre-season was barely anything because, to be fair to Arne, he was like, “If you don’t want to train, you don’t train.”
Despite a brief run of five early wins that papered over the cracks, the team eventually struggled to maintain momentum once the season truly wore on.
