Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Ousmane Dembele paid homage to Diogo Jota on Saturday after the Liverpool forward's tragic death. The Frenchman pulled off the Gamer celebration after scoring in the final minutes of the FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Bayern Munich.
Jota was the first to pull off the celebration after he scored against Tottenham Hotspur in 2023. The Portuguese star was an active gamer and made it his trademark celebration.
Ibrahima Konate, who was close to Jota at Liverpool, was quick to react to Dembele's gesture and posted on his Instagram story.
Dembele was not the first to use the Gamer celebration to pay tribute to Jota. Jesse Motlop, who plays as a half-forward for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League, also pulled off the Diogo Jota Gamer celebration on Friday, June 4.
The 21-year-old scored to level things up against Collingwood Football Club, before they went on to lose by a whopping 56 points. Gerard Whateley, who was on commentary, spotted it on a replay later and said (via the New York Post):
“Those who know these things better than us are telling us the Motlop celebration is in tribute to Diogo Jota, the Liverpool player who lost his life in a car accident yesterday. That was one of his trademark celebrations.”
Diogo Jota was popular among the FIFA community as he regularly played the Weekend League and Rivals matches. He was often spotted using the FIFA Companion App on his phone while he was walking around the Liverpool training ground.
Ousmane Dembele helps PSG beat Bayern Munich in the FIFA Club World Cup
Ousmane Dembele came off the bench to help PSG beat Bayern Munich in the FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, June 5. The Frenchman scored deep into added time to seal the 2-0 win, when the Ligue 1 side were down to 9 men.
PSG took the lead in the 78th minute through Desire Doue, when the youngster wrong-footed Manuel Neuer with his shot from outside the box. The ball rolled into the near post, while the German was on his way to his right.
The UEFA Champions League winners were down to 9 men after Willian Pacho got sent off in the 82nd minute, followed by Lucas Hernandez in the 92nd minute. Bayern Munich were looking to go all out attacking to find an equalizer. However, Dembele and Co. countered and scored the winner in the 96th minute of the match.