Andy Robertson reveals how Diogo Jota's death influenced Liverpool's new signings

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FT Desk

Former Liverpool star Andy Robertson has discussed how the passing of team-mate Diogo Jota impacted the squad of the defending Premier League champions as well as the new players that came into the club.

The Reds won the league under Arne Slot in 2024/25 but that summer, shockwaves were sent through the football world when it was announced Jota had died in a car crash in Spain alongside his brother.

There was an outpouring of grief from the Liverpool fans and players as they lost one of their own. The players had lost not only a team-mate, but a dear friend, and it had a profound impact on everyone connected to the Anfield side.

In a different way, it was also difficult for the new signings that came into the club that summer - Alexander, Isak, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni , Freddie Woodman and Armin Pecsi.

In the 2025/26 season, the likes of Isak and Wirtz in particular received criticism for their performances, which were underwhelming considering their high transfer fees.

"It's difficult to describe or talk about. What we went through was horrendous," Robertson said on the Overlap.

"The new signings, they're coming into a club that was heartbroken. I felt so sorry for these guys because they'd signed, and they'd signed for big money, and it took them months to settle in. We didn't care about football.

"That was the truth of it, we didn't care about football because we'd just lost one of our best mates in the changing room.

Andy Robertson on how Diogo Jota’s passing affected the club:

“I felt so bad for the new guys who signed for big money… they couldn’t settle in for months…because we didn’t care about football…we lost our edge as a team…” pic.twitter.com/Q6nY7aPl2A

— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) September 22, 2026

"All footballers have that edge and, when you lose that edge sometimes, you can't perform to your best. I think last season we lost the edge.

"When I look back on it now, I think we lost that determination a little bit because at times we were maybe thinking 'what's the point? Look at what Jota's family is going through, I mean look at his kids...'"

Liverpool did not put up a meaningful defence of their title and ended up finishing fifth in 2025/26, though it is clear the fallout from Jota's passing was felt for long into the campaign. Slot was eventually sacked due to the drop down the table.

Jota had got married just a week before he died and most of his team-mates were there.

"We were grieving. He was our mate at the end of the day, he wasn't a footballer to us. He was a teammate, a friend. For us, it was incredibly difficult," the Scot explained.

"The week before he died, I was at his wedding. That's one of the most difficult things you'll ever go through, seeing him on the happiest day of his life and then the next week, you're seeing his family torn apart."

In the summer of 2026, Robertson completed a free transfer away from Liverpool to sign for Tottenham.