Emotional scenes at Anfield as Diogo Jota's sons lead the teams out as mascots for game between former Liverpool forward's two former teams
Rute, who watched on as Dinis and Duarte enjoyed a kickaround with Virgil van Dijk on the Anfield turf, said that gestures of support 'mean more than words can express'.
Diogo Jota's widow, Rute, has thanked Liverpool Football Club after her family returned to Anfield for Saturday's game between the Reds and Wolves.
Dinis and Duarte, two of Jota and Rute Cardoso's three children, took to the pitch in Merseyside before the 3pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon as Arne Slot's men took on Wolves - who sold the Portuguese to Liverpool in 2020.
The fixture marked the first meeting between Liverpool and Wolves - the late Portugal international's former clubs - since Jota, 28, and his brother, André Silva, 25, died in a fatal car crash in Spain earlier this year.
Fans from both teams paid heartfelt tributes to Jota throughout the game - which Liverpool won 2-1.
Rute, who watched on as Dinis and Duarte enjoyed a kickaround with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk on the Anfield turf, said that gestures of goodwill and support 'have meant more than words can express'.
'From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the club and to all the fans for the love, respect and support shown during this incredibly difficult time,' she wrote on Instagram. 'Your messages and gestures have meant more than words can express.'
She shared photos of her two sons enjoying their day at Anfield. They were also joined by their younger sister, who was born in November last year.
The mother of Diogo Jota's children paid a heartfelt message to Liverpool fans after their sons were mascots for the Reds' game against Wolves on Saturday
Jota's widow, Rute, watched on from the stands on an emotional afternoon at Anfield
Jota was signed for the Reds in 2020 by Jurgen Klopp who, writing in The Observer on Saturday, remembered his 'humble and authentic' former player in a touching tribute.
'Why was he so loved? For me, it's simple,' Klopp wrote. 'Because in Diogo, people saw the very best of themselves. Or maybe the best of what we wanted to be. He was humble and authentic. He didn't pretend to be anything other than what he was.
'And in the tributes that came in, in those terrible hours and days after the accident, the words were always the same: he was fun, he was normal, he was genuine. Diogo was simply Diogo. Unashamedly.
'Although I remember the footballer with huge pride, it is the person I remember most. But the beautiful thing is: both versions of him shared the same qualities.'