Jack Grealish reacts to Cody Gakpo's emotional Liverpool message

Cody Gakpo sent an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota after Liverpool's first pre-season friendly against Preston North End.

Liverpool's first match of the 2025–26 season came just 10 days after the football world was rocked by the tragic deaths of Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who both passed away in a car accident on 3 July.

Tributes from Liverpool, Wolves, Portugal and beyond have been widespread in the period since Jota and Andre Silva's passing, and the Reds confirmed on 11 July that they would retire the former's number 20.

All four sides of Deepdale paid tribute to Jota during Sunday's friendly as Preston skipper Ben Whiteman laid a wreath before kick-off, and Liverpool's players also celebrated their team-mate in a 3-1 victory.

Gakpo relays Liverpool message in latest Jota tribute

The outpouring of love from Liverpool players past and present in the wake of Jota's tragic passing has been followed up by the football world doing the same, and those tributes have continued on the pitch.

Darwin Nunez mimicked Jota's well-known 'video game' goal celebration after scoring the Reds' second at Deepdale on Sunday, either side of strikes from Conor Bradley and Preston's Liam Lindsay late on.

Gakpo also got in on the act two minutes from time to round off the scoring for Liverpool, and his finish in the 88th minute was followed by the Dutchman displaying the number 20 to the crowd with his hands.

At full-time, Gakpo posted on Instagram (13 July) with images of his celebration and the tributes paid to Jota and Andre Silva, and the simple message of "Forever 20".

Gakpo's post was liked by a plethora of his Liverpool team-mates, as new left-back Milos Kerkez left 'love heart' and 'prayer' emojis in the comments section alongside Manchester City star Jack Grealish.

Liverpool to lean on Gakpo after Preston result

The passing of Jota has sent shockwaves through the world of football and brought a togetherness in the Liverpool squad which few fans will want to see broken up ahead of their Premier League defence.

Jarell Quansah's move to Bayer Leverkusen was confirmed the day before Jota's fatal car accident, and Slot has some tough decisions to make this summer on players who could also head for the exit door.

Gakpo certainly won't be one of those after his 18 goals and seven assists last season, and with Florian Wirtz yet to be unleashed in pre-season, expect the Dutchman to be one of Slot's go-to players over the next 12 months.