Diogo Jota facts for kids
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Jota playing for Liverpool in 2021
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 4 December 1996 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Porto, Portugal | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward, winger | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Liverpool | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 20 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2013 | Gondomar | |||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Paços de Ferreira | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Paços de Ferreira | 41 | (14) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Atlético Madrid | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Porto (loan) | 27 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 44 | (17) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 67 | (16) | |||||||||||||
| 2020– | Liverpool | 110 | (46) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Portugal U19 | 9 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Portugal U21 | 20 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Portugal U23 | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2019– | Portugal | 46 | (14) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Diogo José Teixeira da Silva (born 4 December 1996), known as Diogo Jota, is a professional footballer from Portugal. He plays as a forward or left winger for the English club Liverpool. He also plays for the Portugal national team. Jota is famous for his great scoring, super fast speed, and amazing dribbling skills.
Jota started his football journey with Paços de Ferreira. In 2016, he signed with La Liga club Atlético Madrid. After playing two seasons in Portugal's top league, he was loaned to FC Porto in 2016. Then, in 2017, he went on loan to EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He helped them get promoted to the Premier League. In 2018, he officially joined Wolves for about €14 million. He played 131 games for them and scored 44 goals. In 2020, he moved to Liverpool for a fee of around £41 million.
Jota also played for Portugal's youth teams. He represented his country at the under-19, under-21, and under-23 levels. He was part of the squad that won the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in Portugal. He made his debut for the senior national team in November 2019. He also played in major tournaments like UEFA Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
Contents
Club Career
Paços de Ferreira
Diogo Jota was born in Porto, Portugal. He joined Paços de Ferreira's youth academy in 2013. Before that, he played for Gondomar. He moved up to the main team for the 2014–15 season. His first game as a senior player was on 19 October 2014. It was a 4–0 home win against Atlético de Reguengos in the Taça de Portugal cup.
Jota first played in the Primeira Liga, Portugal's top league, on 20 February 2015. He came on as a late substitute in a 2–2 draw against Vitória de Guimarães. He scored his first goals in this league on 17 May. He scored two goals in a 3–2 home win against Académica de Coimbra. This made him the youngest player to score for the club in the top league.
On 30 May 2015, Jota signed a new five-year contract with Paços. This kept him with the club until 2020. In the first game of the 2015–16 season, a 1–0 win over Académica, he was sent off for pushing an opponent.
Atlético Madrid
On 14 March 2016, Jota agreed to a five-year contract with Atlético Madrid. This deal started on 1 July. However, on 26 August 2016, he went back to Portugal. He joined FC Porto on a one-year loan. On 1 October, Jota scored three goals in the first half. This helped Porto win 4–0 away against Nacional. Jota also played in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. He scored his first goal in this competition on 7 December. It was in a 5–0 home win against Leicester City.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Joining Wolves and Premier League Promotion
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On 25 July 2017, Jota joined EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal on 15 August in a 3–2 away win over Hull City. On 30 January 2018, Wolves agreed to sign Jota permanently for about €14 million. This deal became official on 1 July. He scored a career-best 17 league goals in his first year. This helped Wolves win the Championship and get promoted to the Premier League.
Jota made his Premier League debut on 11 August 2018. He played the whole game in a 2–2 home draw against Everton. He scored his first Premier League goal on 5 December. He helped Wolves come back to beat Chelsea 2–1. Four days later, he scored again in a win at Newcastle United. On 19 January 2019, Jota scored three goals in a 4–3 home win over Leicester City. This was his second career hat-trick. He became only the second Portuguese player to score a Premier League hat-trick after Cristiano Ronaldo.
Last Season with Wolves
On 25 July 2019, Jota scored in a 2–0 win against Crusaders in the Europa League. This was Wolves' first European goal since October 1980. In the next round on 15 August, he scored an amazing overhead kick. This helped Wolves win 4–0 (8–0 on total) against Pyunik.
In the final Europa League group stage game against Beşiktaş on 12 December 2019, Jota came on as a substitute. He scored after just 72 seconds and completed a hat-trick within twelve minutes. Wolves won the game 4–0. On 20 February, he scored another hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Espanyol. This was in the first leg of the Europa League's last 32. His last game for Wolves was on 11 August 2020. It was a Europa League quarter-final against Sevilla. His last goal for the club was in a 3–0 league win over Everton on 12 July.
Liverpool
First Season at Liverpool
On 19 September 2020, Jota joined Liverpool on a long-term contract. The transfer fee was reportedly £41 million. He made his debut five days later in the EFL Cup. He came on as a substitute in a 7–2 win against Lincoln City. On 28 September, he scored on his Premier League debut for Liverpool. It was the third goal in a 3–1 win against Arsenal at Anfield. Jota scored Liverpool's 10,000th goal in their history. This happened when he scored against Midtjylland in the UEFA Champions League.
On 3 November, he scored three goals in a 5–0 win at Atalanta in the Champions League. He was the first player since Robbie Fowler in 1993 to score 7 goals in his first 10 Liverpool games. On 22 November, Jota scored in a 3–0 win against Leicester City. He became the first Liverpool player to score in his first four home Premier League matches. For his great play in October, Liverpool fans voted Jota as their Player of the Month. On 9 December, Jota got a leg injury during a Champions League match. This kept him out of action for three months.
Jota finished his first season with Liverpool with nine league goals. This included a cool back-heel goal in a 4–2 away win against Manchester United. His goals helped Liverpool finish third in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League.
Winning Trophies with Liverpool
On 14 August 2021, Jota scored Liverpool's first goal of the 2021–22 Premier League season. It was in a 3–0 away win against newly promoted Norwich City. On 24 October, he scored in a huge 5–0 away win against Liverpool's big rivals, Manchester United, at Old Trafford. On 3 November, he scored the first goal in a 2–0 home win in the Champions League against his old club Atlético Madrid. This win made sure Liverpool qualified for the next round. On 1 December, he scored Liverpool's fourth goal in a 4–1 away win against local rivals Everton. This was in the Merseyside derby.
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On 20 January 2022, in the EFL Cup semi-finals, Jota scored both goals in a 2–0 away win over Arsenal. This sent Liverpool to the final. On 27 February, after a 0–0 draw against Chelsea, he scored his penalty in the shoot-out. This helped Liverpool win their first League Cup since 2012. On 14 May, in the 2022 FA Cup final, Jota came on as a substitute. Liverpool won the final after a penalty shoot-out, and Jota scored his penalty. On 28 May, Jota played as a substitute in the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final. Liverpool lost 1–0 to Real Madrid.
Injuries and Comebacks
Jota had a hamstring injury before the 2022–23 season started. This made him miss the first games. On 2 August 2022, Jota signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. He came back from injury on 3 September. He played for the last 10 minutes in a 0–0 draw against Everton. On 12 October, Jota came off the bench in a Champions League match against Rangers. He then gave three assists in one game for the first time in his career. These assists helped Mohamed Salah score three goals very quickly in a 7–1 win. On 16 October, he got a calf injury during a 1–0 win over Manchester City. This injury meant he could not play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He returned from this injury on 13 February in a 2–0 win against Everton.
Jota had not scored a goal since April 2022. But on 17 April 2023, he scored two goals in Liverpool's 6–1 away win over Leeds United. On 30 April, Jota scored a dramatic late winning goal in Liverpool's 4–3 home win over Tottenham Hotspur. This happened after Liverpool had been leading by three goals. He was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award. Liverpool just missed out on Champions League qualification at the end of the season.
More Trophies and Challenges
After a season with many injuries, Jota started the new season on 19 August. He scored the last goal in Liverpool's 3–1 win against Bournemouth. On 30 September, Jota was sent off after only 24 minutes against Tottenham. This left his team with only 9 players. He received some criticism for this. On 5 October, he scored his first goal in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League. It was the final goal in a 2–0 win against Union Saint-Gilloise.
In January 2024, Mohamed Salah was away for the Africa Cup of Nations and then got injured. Jota stepped up and played very well with Darwin Núñez. He scored five goals and made two assists in wins against Burnley, Newcastle, Bournemouth, and Chelsea. This earned him the Premier League Player of the Month award for January. On 17 February, he got a knee injury during a 4–1 away win over Brentford. This kept him out for two months. He returned from injury on 11 April in a 3–0 home loss to Atalanta in the Europa League. Soon after, Jota got another injury against Fulham on 21 April. This meant he missed the rest of the 2023–24 season.
Starting the New Season
On 17 August, Jota scored Liverpool's first goal of the Arne Slot era. It was in a 2–0 away win against Ipswich Town. In the next games, Jota started as the team's number 9. This was because he fit well into Slot's new system. He could drop back and play like a false nine. This meant he was competing with Darwin Núñez for a starting spot. On 5 October, Jota made his 100th start for Liverpool. He scored the only goal in an away win over Crystal Palace.
International Career
Youth Teams
Jota began playing for Portugal at the under-19 level. He scored his first goal on 29 May 2015. It was in a 6–1 home win over Turkey. He played his first game for the under-21 team on 17 November of the same year. He was not yet 19 years old. He played 15 minutes in a 3–0 away win against Israel. On 25 May 2018, he scored two goals for the under-21s. This was in a 3–2 friendly win over Italy.
Senior Team
In March 2019, Jota was called up to the senior national team for the first time. This was for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches. He was part of the squad that won the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in Portugal. However, he did not play in any games. On 14 November, he made his debut. He came on as a substitute for Cristiano Ronaldo in a 6–0 win against Lithuania. He scored his first international goal on 5 September 2020. It was in a 4–1 home win over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League.
Jota was chosen for Portugal's squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. He scored in a 4–2 group stage loss to Germany. He played in all games until Portugal lost to Belgium in the round of 16. On 18 October 2022, Jota was ruled out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This was due to a calf injury he got while playing for Liverpool against Manchester City.
On 11 September 2023, Jota scored two goals in Portugal's huge 9–0 home win over Luxembourg. This was in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers. It was Portugal's biggest win ever in international history. On 21 May 2024, he was named in Portugal's squad for the final tournament in Germany. He played three games in the group stage and one in the knockout stage. Portugal was knocked out by France in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout.
How Diogo Jota Plays
Diogo Jota is a very flexible forward. He can play in many attacking positions. He can be a center forward, a main striker, a winger, a false 9, or an inside forward. Even though he mostly uses his right foot, he is very strong with both feet. Jota is also known for his excellent finishing, super speed, and great dribbling skills. He has a good sense of where to be on the field and controls the ball well. These skills make him especially good at counter-attacks. Plus, he helps out a lot in defense and works very hard during games.
About Diogo Jota's Life
Jota's real last name is "Silva." He chose to use "Jota" to stand out from other players named Diogo and Silva in the youth academy. "Jota" is how you say the letter "J" in Portuguese. So, it's like calling himself "Diogo J."
Jota's brother, André Silva, is also a footballer. He currently plays for Liga Portugal 2 team Penafiel.
Jota loves video games. As of February 6, 2021, he was ranked world No. 1 in FIFA 21's Champions Leaderboard. He even has his own eSports team called Luna Galaxy (it used to be "Diogo Jota eSports"). He often streams his games on Twitch. During the lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, he played in a special FIFA tournament organized by the Premier League. He even beat his future teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final!
Jota and his wife Rute Cardoso have three children.
Trophies and Awards
Wolverhampton Wanderers
- EFL Championship: 2017–18 (Champions)
Liverpool
Portugal
- UEFA Nations League: 2018–19
Individual Awards
- Premier League Player of the Month: January 2024
- SJPF Young Player of the Month: October/November 2015
- Primeira Liga Goal of the Month: February 2016
- UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2020
Images for kids
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Jota playing for Liverpool in 2021
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Jota playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018
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Jota at the EFL and FA Cup trophies parade on the streets of Liverpool on 29 May 2022.
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Jota playing for Liverpool in 2021
