""You have Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, these guys, but when I signed for Everton, he [Jota] was the first guy who texted me. "He just said: 'I'm happy for you. If you need anything on the city, everything, I can help you, just give me a shout.'""
""After every game we played against Liverpool we'd talk a little bit so when Everton showed the interest for me to go to the stadium, I said: 'I go, I go' -- not just because he was Portuguese and we understand each other but he was a really nice person, humble. "I saw a togetherness between Everton and Liverpool. Not between clubs, but more between fans, you know? "A lot of Everton fans were sad because even if he's a rival, life is more than football.""
""I love the Scousers because they are really nice people. All of the Scousers I bump into outside of football and they don't know I'm a footballer they are really good people. "With football, it's different. Sometimes they're going to dislike you just because you play for the rival.""
Beto described Diogo Jota as the first person to contact him after his Everton move and praised Jota's offer to help him settle in the city. Everton representatives laid flowers at Anfield following Jota's death in July. Beto said he and Jota exchanged messages after matches and that Jota was humble and supportive. Beto noted a sense of togetherness between many Everton and Liverpool fans and said supporters were saddened by Jota's passing despite rivalry. Beto acknowledged criticism of his goal record but said he appreciates Merseyside's welcome off the pitch and expects derby hostility on matchday.
Read at ESPN.com
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