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Classy gesture: Liverpool have paid Diogo Jota the perfect tribute

For the fans, Diogo Jota was always going to be Liverpool's No. 20, but it's now been made official.

The Portuguese striker sadly passed away on July 3 after a tyre on his car punctured causing a fire.

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READ MORE: Diogo Jota - He was one of us

The entire football world has been grieving his loss over the past couple of weeks, with many of the players' teammates and friends writing tributes, alongside using his iconic celebration to honour him.

But this week, Liverpool made the decision that many were hoping for, that he will forever be No. 20.

Liverpool make the perfect tribute

The plays have been back in training this week as part of the club's preseason campaign and the social media team has taken a step back from their usual duties, giving the players their privacy.

Very limited and tasteful posts have been published on the different channels, including moments where past players have been to visit Anfield to lay down some flowers of their own to pay respect.

Jota's wife Rute and his surrounding family were in Liverpool this week, and the entire squad joined them to host a memorial service where roses and other flowers were added to the fans' outpouring.

But on top of that, the decision has now been formally announced to retire the number 20. shirt, the first time that the club has decided to make such a gesture, marking it as unique and Jota's forever.

The retirement of the shirt is across the board for the club, not just at the mens first-team level and so there will be no one else wearing the number on the Red side of Merseyside moving forward.

As part of the announcement, Billy Hogan and Fenway Sport Group made a collective statement.

It said: "The fact that in the long and storied history of our club this honour has never previously been bestowed shows the significance of Diogo to Liverpool Football Club.

"His memory and contribution will be immortalised by his association with the number 20.

"Our love goes to Rute, his three beautiful children and his family as they continue to grieve the loss of Diogo and Andre."

Throughout the entire process, Liverpool have acted with class, dignity and strength, and the players are a testament to themselves, consoling Jota's family while dealing with their own heartache as well.

Virgil Van Dijk was pictured in footage posted by the club consoling Diogo and Andre's mother and an outpouring of support has shown to Rute this week. What she's going through is unimaginable.

And so while this piece doesn't really have an agenda, it only feels right to praise those who have had the extremely difficult task of getting their heads around the news since it was released.

Liverpool have been through a lot as a club over the last few years, not least the incident that unfolded in Paris at the 2022 Champions League Final, alongside the horrific scenes of last month's Premier League trophy parade. It's not easy to react accordingly but everyone's done so with class.

The impact of such traumatic times is still going on and it will be an emotional season without Jota, but the club has made the right decision to immortalise him and he will forever be in our memories.