It’s fair to say that things have not gone well for Jota since he left Celtic for Al-Ittihad in a €29.1m deal last summer.
He’s now at Stade Rennais in France after his miserable year in Saudi Arabia but it seems the adoration he received at Celtic remains in the forefront, at least according to Ouest France.
They cover the player today after his €8m move in the summer, which brought an end to a disappointing year in Saudi Arabia that saw him make 25 appearances in total but never truly settle in.
He struggled to impress at the club, despite having arrived in a big money following his excellent spell at Celtic that saw him score 28 goals and register 26 assists in 83 games for the Scottish giants.
He was a firm fan favourite, a status that was evident by the fact fans had given him his own song, which was regularly heard when he was shining in the famous hoops.
He’s hoping to establish himself as a key player back in France and get back on track, perhaps to the level that had Celtic Park ‘stand up and sing’ on a regular basis in Scotland.
That will take some effort and he’s not sure he’ll ever earn that level of love again, but he is ready to bounce back either way.
“Sometimes, things don’t go the way they’re supposed to,” he said.
“It happened to me; it can happen to you. I’m at peace with that, life goes on. I just need to stay myself, happy,” he said.
“I don’t expect it to be the same here, I just want to be the best version of myself and help everyone enjoy it, including the fans.”
