A new season. A new chapter. But not the kind Liverpool Football Club envisioned.
The 2025–26 campaign was supposed to mark the fresh start for Arne Slot and the club’s first defence of a Premier League title in over three decades. Instead, Liverpool return to their AXA Training Centre under the heaviest of clouds following the devastating loss of Diogo Jota.
Pre-season training was originally due to begin on Monday, July 7, but the tragic passing of Jota just five days earlier saw plans immediately halted. Players and staff were granted extra time to grieve, with many of the squad travelling to Gondomar in Portugal to attend the funeral of Jota and his brother André Silva, who both died in a car crash in Spain.
Jota’s death rocked not just Liverpool but the entire football world. The 28-year-old had just capped off the season of his life a Premier League champion, a Nations League winner with Portugal, and a newlywed after marrying his childhood sweetheart before the unthinkable happened.
He had been en route back to England to report for pre-season when tragedy struck.
Now, the Reds return to training on Tuesday, not just to prepare for a new season, but to begin healing together. The AXA Training Centre in Kirkby, usually buzzing with excitement at the start of a new campaign, will instead be filled with somber reflection. Football will feel secondary, almost irrelevant, as players walk back into the building where Jota’s absence will be most deeply felt.
Tributes to Diogo Jota outside the AXA Training Centre this morning ahead of LFC’s first day of pre-season training. pic.twitter.com/IgVV90Md5c
— Jamie Greer (@jamiemgreer) July 8, 2025
This is the reality facing Slot and his staff as they begin a new season. There will be new faces including assistant coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst and goalkeeping coach Xavi Valero after departures were confirmed for both goalkeeper coaches Fabian Otte who has now joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and Claudio Taffarel who was at the club for four years and assistant coach John Heitinga who has become a manager at Eredivise side Ajax.
New signings Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman are due to meet their teammates for the first time in a dressing room where the mood will be anything but light.
A staggered return of the squad is expected over the next few days, with early sessions likely to be focused on light fitness and medical testing. Slot and his staff are not rushing into football. The club’s priority is the emotional wellbeing of the players, who are still coming to terms with the shock of losing a teammate and friend.
The Reds had been scheduled to face Preston North End at Deepdale on Sunday, July 13, in their first pre-season friendly. That match now hangs in the balance. According to reports from the Liverpool Echo, the club will consult with players and staff to determine whether they feel emotionally ready to return to action so soon. Preston, fully aware of the delicacy of the situation, are said to be “following Liverpool’s lead” and are preparing a tribute should the match proceed.
Beyond Preston, Liverpool have six warm-up fixtures planned across three continents, including clashes with AC Milan (Hong Kong, July 26), Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan, July 30), Athletic Club (Anfield double header, August 4), and Crystal Palace (Wembley, August 10) before their 2025–26 season officially begins.
Yet, every match from here will carry a new meaning. Around the club and on social media Liverpool supporters have the begun a growing mantra of #DoItForDiogo and it reflects a unifying message that Jota’s memory will be carried onto the pitch, into every team talk, and behind every note of You’ll Never Walk Alone and every match.
It was just six weeks ago that this Liverpool squad stood in front of a jubilant Anfield crowd, basking in the joy of their 20th league title. Now, they gather not to celebrate but to mourn.
Still, in football there is often healing. The matches will return. The chants will rise especially his own “He wears the number 20” and when they do, Liverpool will be playing not just for silverware but for the teammate who should have been there with them.
Eyes will be on Kirkby this week and on Deepdale if Sunday’s match goes ahead. The road to defending a title begins, but this time, it begins in heartbreak but just maybe, that will give this team an even deeper purpose to do it for their former striker Diogo Jota
