James Milner to pay tribute to the former teammate Diogo Jota with Jersey Number Switch

Brighton and Hove Albion’s James Milner will attract the number 20 shirt this season as a tribute to the former teammate of Liverpool Diogo Jota, who died last month in a car accident in Spain.

Jota and his brother Andre Silva were killed at the beginning of July when their Lamborghini walked off the road and burst into flames in northwestern Spain.

The Portuguese attacker had worn the number 20 during his time in Liverpool, where he and Milner played three seasons together before the move from the experienced midfielder to Brighton in 2023.

«Once I heard that Carlos (Baleba) wanted to change his number and 20 was available, I wanted to do it as a sign of respect and clearly pay tribute to Diogo Jota,» Milner said.

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«(He was) a great player with whom I was lucky to play with and also a great friend. So it would be a great honor to wear his song in the Premier League,» he added.

Liverpool permanently retires the number 20 after consulting with the player of the player, Rute and family. The team number will not be used at any level, including the ladies team and the academy.

The 39-year-old Milner recently agreed to a one-year contract extension with Brighton and is chasing Premier League history himself.

With 638 Premier League performances already to his name, he is a striking distance from Gareth Barry’s record of 653 games.