Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, laid flowers outside Anfield after hearing about the shock death of Liverpool striker Diogo Jota.
She was joined by the Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram.
She said: “It is heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking, it just shows how life events can change really quickly.
“I’m absolutely devastated for his wife, his children and his family. I can’t imagine what they are going through, my son is 28, it is really shocking.
“Life and his career had only just started, he’s done an incredible job here at Liverpool Football Club and one of their greatest strikers and just getting married, having his young children, looking forward to all the great things that he was going to do here and in his life. It is just so heartbreaking and devastating to the people who have woke up to the news. It’s hard.
“I came here for a local government conference and just to hear that sad news, and I’ve been over at Everton today and just seeing the outpouring across the whole of the city is, it is incredible and our condolences and our thoughts today are primarily with Diogo’s family and his wife and his children.“