Liverpool forward, Diogo Jota has claimed playing in the UEFA Europa League is a downgrade to Liverpool status as one of the strongholds in football.
The 26-year-old also joked that Real Madrid could crush the Reds hopes of the winning the European competition next season.
After placing fifth in the Premier League, Liverpool were left with little choice but to accept a spot in the Europa League for next season. That will allow them to avoid Real Madrid.
But Jota would not be surprised if they ran into each other again because he has grown accustomed to losing to the Spanish giants.
He told FourFourTwo as reported by Goal: “[Real Madrid] can somehow finish third in their [Champions League] group and still be in our way.
But since I came to Liverpool, I’ve always got knocked out by Real Madrid, so hopefully they’re not there [in the Europa League].”
After joining Liverpool from Wolves in 2020, Jota has been eliminated by Madrid in the 2022 UCL final, the 2021 quarterfinals, and the last-16
The 26-year-old believes that a season in the secondary European club competition will disappoint the club’s supporters. But he insists that they should still take it seriously.
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“I played in the Europa League before with Wolves. Although the fans are used to playing in the Champions League every single year and it will feel like a downgrade. It’s still a prestigious competition. We’ll give our best to win it,” he added.
In order to build on their poor 2022–23 season, Jota and his teammates will shortly return to Liverpool and start making plans for the upcoming season.
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