Jota was born in Lisbon on 30 March 1999 (age 27) and came through Benfica before Celtic brought him to Glasgow in August 2021. A left winger with polish rather than bluster, he quickly became more than a borrowed attacking option and gave Celtic width, invention and end product at a point when the side needed all three.
His strongest league season at Celtic came in 2022-2023, when he scored 11 goals in 33 appearances. Across his Celtic spells he won three Premiership titles, one Scottish Cup and two League Cups, with a further Scottish Cup runners-up medal. That is a substantial return, even allowing for the usual noise that follows any wide player who tries things for a living.
In July 2023 he left Celtic for Al-Ittihad for around £25m. The move took him into a very different football environment, and he later had a spell with Rennes before returning to Celtic and settling again more fully into the club where his best football had already been seen.
His current market value is around £4.5m, according to Transfermarkt. Jota’s career has already had a few sharp turns: Benfica development, Celtic breakthrough, a lucrative Saudi move, time in France, and then a return to Glasgow where his attacking qualities were already well understood.
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