Liverpool have shared the designs for a permanent memorial to Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, to be positioned on 97 Avenue outside Anfield — the exact spot where thousands of scarves, flowers, and banners piled up in the days after the brothers were killed in a car crash last July.
The sculpture is called Forever 20. It's a reference to Jota's shirt number, which Liverpool retired across every level of the club following his death. Supporters have been singing his name at the 20th minute of every home game this season, and that tradition is baked into the memorial itself — the lyrics to his famous terrace song will be inscribed on the piece.
What the sculpture actually looks like
At its core is a flowing heart shape, a direct nod to Jota's goal celebration. Viewed from different angles, the sculpture also reveals the numbers 20 and 30 — the shirt numbers the brothers wore. The plinth beneath it is Granby Rock-faced stone, laser-engraved with a dedication to both men.
The detail that cuts deepest: many of the physical tributes left at Anfield in the aftermath — the scarves, the cards, the opposition jerseys — have been incorporated into the plinth itself. They're not just symbols. They're structurally part of the memorial now.
There's also a games controller detail resting on the plinth. A small touch. The kind of specific, personal reference that separates a real tribute from a generic one.
A grief that's shaped an entire season
Jota died just days after marrying his longtime partner Rute Cardoso. He was on his way back to Merseyside for pre-season. The timing made it worse, if that's even possible — a summer that should have marked a new chapter ended in the kind of tragedy that reshapes a club's identity for years.
Liverpool haven't just mourned quietly. The retired number, the minute-20 songs, the ongoing tributes at the ground — it's been a season-long act of collective remembrance, sustained by players and supporters alike. That the club has now committed to a permanent structure, rather than letting the tributes fade, says something about how deeply this loss registered.
The club confirmed the sculpture will be officially unveiled at a later date, with further details to follow.
