Chelsea to give share of Club World Cup earnings to Jota's Family

Chelsea will use a portion of their Club World Cup bonuses paid to players to make a financial donation to the families of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.

The Blues emerged as unlikely winners of the US-hosted tournament back in July, defeating Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain in the final with a 3-0 victory.

Their success in the revamped competition earned the club an estimated £84.4 million, making it the most lucrative tournament in club football after once being viewed as little more than a glorified mid-season friendly.

Chelsea have subsequently allocated an £11.4 million fund to be distributed equally among the players who represented Enzo Maresca’s side during the showpiece event.

As reported by The Athletic, the club and players have also jointly decided that an equal payment will be made to Jota and Silva's families after their tragic passing over the summer has seen tributes for the siblings flood in from all corners of the globe.

The overall value of each portion amounts to more than $500,000 [£368,000] before being subjected to currency conversion costs from US dollars into UK pound sterling, as well as relevant employer costs, taxes, and social security deductions.

Liverpool forward Jota and his brother Andre Silva, a footballer at Portuguese club Penafiel, both died in a road traffic accident in the Spanish province of Zamora on July 3 - just 10 days before Chelsea’s Club World Cup final victory and only two weeks after Jota had married his childhood sweetheart, at the same venue where he was later laid to rest.

The Premier League champions recently unveiled plans for a memorial sculpture at Anfield as the centrepiece of a permanent tribute to Jota, who scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the club.

Players will wear a “Forever 20” emblem on their shirts and stadium jackets for the entirety of the 2025–26 season, while the LFC Foundation - the club’s official charity - will launch a grassroots football programme in the Portugal international’s name.

Liverpool also announced last month that they were permanently retiring the No. 20 shirt at all levels of the club in Jota’s memory.

He joined Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020, and his final act for the Reds was helping them lift their 20th league title.

If there was ever a sight that showed just how loved the forward was, is, and always will be, it was the makeshift memorial that stretched across all four stands at Anfield - 100 yards of flowers, balloons, stuffed teddies, and heartfelt letters that united the football world in tribute and saw the likes of Jordan Henderson, the current squad, and neighbours Everton add to.

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