Al Hilal's Ruben Neves and Joao Canneo broke in tears during the Minute's Silence for their former Portugal teammate Diogo Jota for the quarterfinals of their Side World Cup against Fluminense on Friday.
Jota, a Liverpool -attacker, and his younger brother Andre Silva were killed on Thursday morning in a car accident in northwestern Spain, when their Lamborghini walked off the road and caught fire.
Huldesten have continued to flow in for Jota and Andre with football, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard, who join the Prime Ministers of Portugal and Great -Britain to mourn the loss.
Friday's game between Al Hilal and Fluminense in Orlando started with players and fans who observed a minute of silence in memory of Jota and Andre.
Neves, one of Jota's best friends who played with Wolverhampton Wanderers with the 28-year-old during their days, brought a moving tribute to Instagram about an hour before the kick-off.
“Wherever you are, I know you are going to read this, we have never been one for these things and maybe I will regret it a bit now, but you just know what you mean for me when I know what I am,” said Neves.
“More than a friendship, we are family, and we are not going to stop being family just because you have decided to sign a contract a little further away from us!
“When I go to the national team, you are still by my side at the dining table, on the bus, on the plane … You will always be there with me, as usual. We will continue to laugh, make plans, share our lives with each other.
“I will ensure that you are always there and I will ensure that your family never misses anything while you're there, far away but thinking of us, waiting for us …
“From today you are on the field with me, and we follow our path together, on the stage where we met.”
The Portuguese forward Pedro Neto of Chelsea also brought a sincere tribute to his friends when he walked into the field with a shirt with their names for their quarterfinals against Palmeiras in Philadephia.
“We spoke with Pedro yesterday and this morning and it was a complete Pedro's decision to play or not to play,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca after the 2-1 victory of his team.
“He made a fantastic attempt to play this game, to play with his teammates, and we really appreciate what he did.
“I just told the players that this victory is especially for him because we know how close he was and the effort he did. So undoubtedly that we really appreciate what he finally decided.”
The funerals of the brothers are expected to take place on Saturday at 10 am local time (0800 GMT) in the Portuguese city of Gondomar.