Chelsea player Neto may decide by coach himself whether he plays Diogo Jota after death

Chelsea player Neto may decide by coach himself whether he plays Diogo Jota after death

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca fully understands if Pedro Neto decides not to play in the Club World Cup after the death of Diogo Jota. The two played together briefly at Wolverhampton and were teammates in the Portuguese national team.

Neto is scheduled to play with Chelsea against Palmeiras on Friday night (Dutch time). But he can decide for himself whether he actually takes action. “It’s his decision, I spoke to him this morning,” coach Maresca said at a press conference.

“Any decision he makes is fine,” said the Italian coach. “We will fully support him in that. It doesn’t matter whether he is on the field tomorrow or not.”

Neto was a friend of Jota, who died in a traffic accident in Spain on Thursday. His younger brother André Silva also died in the incident in the Spanish province of Zamora. Spanish police say the car they were in had a flat tire while overtaking.

Defender Marc Cucurella also joined the press conference and echoed the words of his trainer. “The coach and he have to make the decision, but the most important thing is that he feels good. Football comes second in such a case.”

Jota and his brother will be buried in São Cosme on Saturday, about half an hour’s drive from their hometown of Porto. During the Club World Cup, a moment of silence will be held before the four quarter-finals in memory of the deceased duo.

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