‘I called him MacJota’ – Liverpool’s Andy Robertson pays heartfelt tribute to ‘most British foreign player’ Diogo Jota

ANDY ROBERTSON has added his heartfelt tribute to the chorus of well wishes and mourning following the tragic death of Diogo Jota.

in a traffic incident while when a tyre suddenly burst and sent the car veering off the road before catching fire.

The , who played for Portuguese second-tier club Penafiel.

Only 10 days earlier, had gotten married to , while the horrific news has also left three children without their father.

Tributes for the late attacker have poured in from around the world, including , , his club and

Team-mates past and present also sent their condolences to Jota‘s family and paid heartfelt tributes to Jota and Silva.

And now international and team-mate of five years, , has released his heartbroken homage to Jota.

In a statement released on his page, the 31-year-old said: “The ones I’m thinking about most right now are the family. Their loss is too much to bear. I’m so sorry that they have lost two such precious souls – Diogo and Andre.

“For the team and the Club, we’ll try to cope with this together... however long that takes. For me, I want to talk about my mate. My buddy. The bloke I loved and will miss like crazy.”;

The defender described his buddy as a “good guy”; who was “normal and real”;, adding that he was “full of fun”;.

Robertson continued by explaining what they would do when hanging out together, including watching , going to and giving him the nickname “MacJota”;.

He continued: “He was the most British foreign player I’ve ever met. We used to joke he was really Irish... I’d try to claim him as Scottish, obviously. I even called him Diogo MacJota.

“We’d watch the darts together, enjoy the horse racing. Going to Cheltenham this season was a highlight – one of the best we had.”;

Robertson’s statement opens up on the last time he saw his mate, his wedding day, where he had a “never-creasing smile”;.

He concluded: “The last time I saw him was the happiest day of his life – his wedding day.

“I want to remember his never-ceasing smile from that magical day. How much he was bursting with love for his wife and family.

I can’t believe we’re saying goodbye. It’s too soon, and it hurts so much. But thank you for being in my life, mate – and for making it better. Love you, Diogo.”;