Raúl Jiménez Pays Tribute To Late ‘Great Friend’ Diogo Jota At Gold Cup Final

Mexico striker Raúl Jiménez made a pair of touching tributes to his late teammate Diogo Jota during the Concacaf Gold Cup final at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday.

Before kickoff, Jiménez walked onto the pitch wearing a Mexico jersey with the name “Diogo J” on the back. Jiménez was teammates with the Portuguese forward for two seasons at Wolverhampton Wanderers when the club was in the Premier League.

Jota and his brother were killed in a car accident in Spain when the Lamborghini they were driving in veered off a road and burst into flames, police said Thursday. Jota was 28 years old and his brother, André, was 25.

“Diogo was a great friend who was with me at Wolves. There were times that we stayed in communication, we shared wonderful moments aside from the important things we were chasing for that time. It is hard to see this, someone so close to you who was a great friend,” Jimenez said Saturday.

Then, when Jiménez scored the equalizer for Mexico against the United States in the 27th minute, Jiménez sat down and did Jota’s signature celebration, which involves sitting down and playing with an imaginary gaming controller. Jiménez also draped the custom Mexico jersey with Jota’s name on the back over his crossed legs.

(Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé did the same after his goal at the FIFA Club World Cup, as did Real Salt Lake winger Diogo Gonçalves, who came up in Portugal’s youth ranks with Jota.

Explaining the celebration

Diogo Jota was more than a massive fan of EA Sports FC (formerly EA Sports FIFA); he was an accomplished player. In April 2020, Jota famously went 30-0 in FUT Champions, the premier competition in EA Sports FC’s Ultimate Team. As a result of his undefeated record, Jota was ranked among the Top 20 players in the world — and it didn’t stop there.

Jota qualified for the FIFA Global Series Qualifier — one of the fiercest FIFA competitions in Europe — in 2022. He lost to 2017 world champion Gorilla in his tournament debut, but was heralded for holding his own.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Jota became the owner of esports team Galaxy racer in 2023 and merged it with his own team, Diogo Jota Sports, which was later renamed to Luna Sports. Luna Sports won the FC 24 Esports World Cup last year through EA FC pro João Vasconcelos.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.