Manchester United and Leeds players pay tribute to Diogo Jota before pre-season clash in Sweden

Manchester United and Leeds United players paid tribute to the late Diogo Jota before the pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 19, reports Sportstar. The two bitter rivals locked horns at the Strawberry Arena in Sweden to kickstart their preparations for the new season.

The West Yorkshire club secured promotion to the Premier League last season and will compete in the top tier of English football in the upcoming campaign. The Red Devils, meanwhile, finished 15th in the league table in the 2024-25 season and are looking to turn over a new leaf.

Ahead of the pre-season friendly on Saturday, players from both sides observed a minute's silence in memory of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. The two brothers lost their lives earlier this month in a fatal car accident near Zamora in northwestern Spain.

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim, skipper Bruno Fernandes, and Diogo Dalot had visited Anfield on July 14 to pay tribute to the deceased duo. Jota was a key figure of the Liverpool squad that won the Premier League last season.

The former Portuguese international also won the UEFA Nations League over the summer with his nation. Jota has previously lifted the FA Cup and the League Cup with the Reds under Jurgen Klopp. His brother, Andre, was also a professional footballer who played for Portuguese second-division side Penafiel before his career was tragically cut short.

Will Marcus Rashford leave Manchester United this summer?

Marcus Rashford is close to leaving Manchester United on loan to join Barcelona, according to acclaimed journalist David Ornstein. The English forward had a fallout with Ruben Amorim at the end of last year and was also linked with the Catalans in the winter.

However, a move failed to materialize, and Rashford left the Red Devils on loan to Aston Villa instead. The Villans had an option to sign him permanently this summer, but opted against exercising that clause.

Recent reports have suggested that the 27-year-old isn't part of Manchester United's plans, and the club are eager to move him on. It was believed that the Red Devils would prefer to offload him permanently to raise funds for the summer.

However, the Premier League giants have now decided to send him out on another temporary deal. Barcelona have apparently proposed a loan deal with an option to buy, which Manchester United have accepted. The transfer hasn't been completed yet, but is now in the final stages.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Deepungsu Pandit