Winger Jota has explained his reasons behind leaving Celtic for a move to Al-Ittihad.
The 24-year-old has endured a nightmare 12 months in the Saudi Pro League following a £25million exit from Celtic Park -having initially been cut from the list of foreign players allowed in the league squad and spending six months out of the picture at Ittihad. The winger did return for the second half of the campaign under Marcelo Gallardo but after the Argentine boss was shown the door his time in the Middle East came to a sudden end.
The Portuguese star is looking to kick-start his career with Stade Rennes with reports in France suggesting he accepting a massive £7million-per-year wage drop to seal the move to Ligue 1 – with Jota said to now be receiving a more modest £2.5million-per-year. But after making his debut for Rennes in the 3-0 victory over Montpellier, the forward once again faced questions over his call to leave Celtic in the summer of 2023.
Discussing his decision to leave the Scottish Premiership champions for Ittihad, he told O Jogo: “I think it’s a fantastic club to be at and develop, there’s a lot of talent, there’s a great atmosphere, it has good facilities. There’s also the project of the club. Sometimes things don’t go as they should, but that’s life.”
While there was reports in Saudi that the wide man was keen on a return to Glasgow’s east end, Christoper Jullien revealed that a the player had a “crazy love” for Ange Postecoglou. Speaking to L’Equipe, the Montpellier defender about Jota: “He makes the effort, is certainly not individualistic, and only uses dribbling as a last resort. He tries to combine a lot.
“Ange Postecoglou and him; it was crazy love, because the coach asked him to favor the splits, the one-twos. And it was totally him.
“He is someone nice to everyone. No one said a bad word about him at Celtic. He wants to succeed. He tries to put all the ingredients on his side to be at the top.”