A former Premier League star has produced a tribute to Wolves and Liverpool icon Diogo Jota
Former Wolves star Jody Craddock has created a moving tribute to Diogo Jota. The artwork produced by the footballer-turned-artist will go on display before Liverpool face Wolves at Molineux in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday.
In July 2025, Liverpool forward Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva tragically lost their lives in a car crash in Spain. The football world was devastated by the deaths of Diogo and Andre, who played for Portuguese side Penafiel.
Jota arrived in English football after moving to Wolves from Atletico Madrid in 2017, helping the club secure Premier League promotion and subsequently qualify for European football. Liverpool and Wolves’ mutual affection for Jota has been evident on numerous occasions already this season.
He joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup during his spell at Anfield. The 28-year-old netted 65 goals in 182 appearances for the Reds.
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As both teams prepare to clash in the FA Cup, Wolves have been collaborating with their former captain Craddock to create artwork honouring Jota. In a poignant touch, the paint used was crafted from the flowers laid as tributes to Jota and his brother outside Molineux.
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In an earlier Instagram post about the artwork, the former Wolves captain shared: “Lately, I haven’t been able to show you what I’ve been up to with my paintings.
“It’s a project with the Wolves and it involves these paints. These are very special paints that were made up from the flowers that were left outside the stadium by the fans in memory of Diogo and his brother.
“The Wolves have asked me to do some paintings in memory of Diogo, which will go up in the stadium and will be ready very, very soon. I hope you like them, I’ve really enjoyed painting them and they’re going to be done with these amazing paints.”
Renowned as a tough defender during his career, Craddock clocked up a total of 189 Premier League appearances for Sunderland and Wolves. While his shift into artistry might raise eyebrows for some, it felt like an obvious decision to the retired centre-half.
“I could play football and I could paint. It’s all I could do,” Craddock told the BBC in 2015. “I think it’s common knowledge that I’m an artist. That’s what I naturally went into when I retired from football.”
He added: “When I retired, I then experimented with graffiti and photo realism. But I needed something that can be taken seriously, that looks good and that people will look and recognise. There’s not a lot out there that has not already been done, so to think of something original and different was hard.”
Craddock’s passion for art had already begun well before hanging up his boots in 2013. Moreover, the Wolves legend reckons his passion can be traced back generations.
“When I left school, football obviously came first, but I continued to paint for my own enjoyment,” he said to FourFourTwo in 2004. “It had become a passion, albeit not one I really discussed much with other people.”
Craddock continued: “Ever since I can remember I’ve enjoyed drawing. Even as a kid, I thought I had a pretty good eye for it. I always thought I took after my dad and granddad in that respect, because they both have a flair for sketching, but I recently discovered that the talent runs even deeper in the family.
“Letters have been found that my great-great-granddad wrote to his wife more than 100 years ago, and they’re illustrated with the most amazing cartoons and doodles. So I guess this love of drawing really is in the blood – only I’ve taken a step further.”
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