Pedro Neto reveals Diogo Jota motivation ahead of Club World Cup final

Chelsea's Pedro Neto has revealed the extra motivation fuelling him ahead of his side's Club World Cup Final against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday evening in New Jersey.

The Blues, one of two Premier League clubs competing in the USA along with Manchester City, are some of what a suprise package reaching the final as the tournament was whittled down from 32 clubs to the last two.

During the month long competition Enzo Maresca's young side have shown impressive maturity and grit to grind-out some hard fought victories, while also showing their scintillating attacking threats at key points.

Their quarter-final victory over Brazilian side Palmeiras was one such game where Chelsea demonstrated they were happy to get down and do the hard work to find a way to win.

The game also took on added significance, occurring just two days after the passing of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota, along with his brother Andre, in a car accident in Spain.

Neto as a Portuguese team-mate and close friend to Diogo was particularly affected by the devasting loss but still took to the field to help his side into the semi-finals.

Ahead of the match Neto carried a shirt with Diogo and Andre on the back, in tribute to the brothers.

Ahead of the Club World Cup final, he sat down with DAZN and reflected on that moment and how it has affected him for the reminder of the tournament.

 

"I spoke to the coaches [ahead of the game] and they were very supportive. They said I didn’t have to play if I needed time. But I wanted to play for him.

"Diogo was a warrior and I wanted to be a warrior for him and play in that match and help my team.

"We won that game and the next. Now I want to win the whole tournament for him as well."

Watch the Club World Cup final on DAZN

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Watch Sunday's final between Chelsea and PSG for free on DAZN on your smart TV, phone, streaming device, PC/laptop and games console.

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