Jota has been Celtic’s superstar from Portugal ever since joining the club in the summer of 2021. He has done a tremendous job over the past couple of seasons, playing his part in all five of the Hoops’ trophies in that period of time. But now, it looks like he is closing in on a move away from Parkhead.
Most fans would have expected Jota to head for one of the top five European leagues, when the Portuguese winger left Celtic. But instead, it looks like he is set to leave the continent altogether.
As reported by The Mail+, Celtic are set to let Jota join Al-Ittihad in a transfer deal worth more than £20 million. The Portuguese winger has agreed terms on a life-changing salary in excess of £10 million-a-year.
Thus, it is not hard to see why all parties might be interested in making the move happen. For Celtic, it would bring in a huge transfer fee, probably even the biggest in the history of Scottish football when all bonuses are taken into account. On the other hand, for Jota, it would be life-changing for obvious reasons.
Jota transfer fee named as Celtic exit close
A couple of years back, Jota was struggling to even find his footing at the senior level. He had been one of the most highly rated talents in the world while coming through the youth ranks at Benfica, but appeared to struggle with the step up.
After failing to make his mark at Benfica, he failed to impress on loan at Real Valladolid as well. The move to Celtic came at the right time for him and might have saved his career at the top level.
Many would question the 24-year-old moving to Al-Ittihad at 24 years of age. But if that is what he decides to do, we can only thank him for his contributions and wish him the best of luck.