Former Liverpool fullback Andy Robertson has given a raw account of just how difficult last season was for the club following the death of Diogo Jota, admitting that the squad simply "didn't care about football" in the aftermath.
Jota and his brother André Silva died in a car accident in the Spanish province of Zamora on July 3, 2025. Six weeks later, Liverpool had to begin their Premier League title defense without the Portugal international, who had spent five years at Anfield.
What followed was a turbulent campaign that ended with a fifth-place finish, no trophies, and the departures of Arne Slot, Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konaté and Robertson himself. Much of the season's struggles were pinned on underperforming new signings or tactical issues, but Robertson made clear the real story went far beyond football.
"It's difficult to describe or talk about it, because what we went through was horrendous," Robertson said of Jota's death on the Stick to Football podcast. "If I'm talking about the new signings, they're coming into a club that is heartbroken, and they're trying."
"That's when I felt so sorry for these guys because they had signed and they were signing for big money. If I'm talking about football, when it took them months to settle in, because we were like ghosts."
"We didn't care about football. That was the truth of it. We didn't care about football because we just lost one of our best mates in the changing room."
Robertson: Liverpool Lost Their 'Edge'
Taken purely on results, Liverpool's fall was dramatic. Slot's side had won the league in 2024-25 and spent close to £450 million ($600 million) last summer on players including Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké, yet needed until the final day of 2025-26 just to secure Champions League qualification.
The club finished on 60 points, 25 behind champions Arsenal. Having lost only four league matches in Slot's first season in charge, Liverpool suffered 12 Premier League defeats last season -- half of them coming in the months immediately after Jota's death.
"All footballers have that edge, don't we, and I think when you lose that edge, sometimes you can't perform to your best," Robertson continued. "I think last season we lost the edge. When I look back on it now, I think we lost that determination a little bit, because I know at times we were going, 'What's the point?'"
"Look at what his family are going through, look at his kids, but we were grieving. It was our mate, at the end of the day. He's not just a footballer to us. He was a teammate, a friend. He was everything. For us it was incredibly difficult."
Jota Immortalized at Anfield
Jota's memory remains present at Anfield. Liverpool retired the number 20 shirt ahead of last season and wore a special honorary patch throughout the campaign.
The club also erected a permanent memorial, named 'Forever 20', on 97 Avenue at Anfield, honoring both Jota and his brother André Silva and giving fans a place to pay their respects.
