Jota has joined former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard in heading to Saudi Arabia after the Celtic winger sealed a sensational £25million switch to Al-Ittihad.
The 24-year-old Portuguese star was in Dubai yesterday where he passed a medical ahead of clinching a move on a three-year contract.
He will earn a life-changing salary in excess of £10m-a-year tax-free from a deal with the Pro League champions, which has been brokered by Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes.
His arrival in Saudi came on the same day ex-Ibrox and Aston Villa manager Gerrard performed a U-turn to take over as head coach of Al-Ettifaq.
Last night a video posted by Al-Ittihad showed a computer-generated depiction of boss Nuno Espirito Santo laying down a playing card with Jota’s image on top of cards featuring his new superstar team-mates Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante. An animated image of Espirito Santo declared at the same time: ‘We want to rule the world.’
A statement read: ‘Ittihad Club has officially announced the signing of Portuguese player Jota Filipe from Scottish club Celtic. The term of the contract is three years.
‘The chairman (Mr Anmar Abdullah Alhailee) expressed his well-wishes to the player, hoping for his success in fulfilling the aspirations of all Ittihad’s fans and supporters.’
In a brief statement, Celtic added: ‘We can confirm that Jota has joined Al-Ittihad on a permanent transfer. Everyone at #CelticFC thanks Jota for his contribution to the club, and wishes him good luck in his future career.’
Signed permanently from Benfica for £7m last summer, following a successful season on loan at Parkhead, Jota claimed 15 goals in 43 appearances as Celtic secured a domestic Treble under Ange Postecoglou.
Now the attacker, who won five trophies in two seasons at Celtic, is following new Spurs boss Postecoglou out the door to join superstar compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo in a Saudi Pro League that is increasingly hoovering up some of European football’s top talents.
Jota joins recent signings including Real Madrid legend and Ballon d’Or winner Benzema and former Chelsea midfielder Kante in the Al-Ittihad squad, where Scot and former Hearts boss Ian Cathro is first-team coach.
Liverpool legend Gerrard yesterday joined the swelling ranks of big names heading for Saudi by accepting a lucrative offer from Al-Ettifaq.
Representatives from the Dammam-based club were in London finalising his appointment on a two-year deal.
Gerrard agreed to the role following a renewed round of talks with the Saudi club, who are committing millions towards player recruitment to help him build a team of global superstars.
‘Without a doubt, Gerrard’s presence will be an addition and a quantum leap to our league,’ said Al-Ettifaq president Khaled Al-Dabel.
Gerrard was sacked by Villa last October less than a year into the job after winning just two of their opening 12 Premier League games.
The 43-year-old had previously led Rangers to the Premiership title in 2020-21 — stopping Celtic winning a historic ten-in-a-row — to secure his first managerial trophy.
He had been a long-term target for the Saudi club but revealed last month he had turned down an initial approach.
‘I was invited over there to look at a potential offer, which I did, and have been analysing that over the last couple of days. As we stand, right now, I won’t be taking that offer up,’ Gerrard told BT Sport at the Champions League final.
Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has taken control of four of the Pro League’s biggest clubs — Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli.
Ettifaq, however, believe they can compete with the PIF-run clubs to challenge for the title next season.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International have criticised the Gerrard move, with UK economic affairs director Peter Frankental saying the ‘gathering stampede’ to join Saudi Arabian clubs was ‘more evidence that Saudi sportswashing has gone into overdrive’.
He added: ‘The Saudi strategy on football appears to be to keep ratcheting up the big-name deals to create the momentum for a bid to host the World Cup in 2030.
‘FIFA must apply stringent human rights risk assessments to any Saudi bid for 2030, but we also need to see FIFA, star signings and high-profile managers like Steven Gerrard speaking out about Saudi Arabia’s atrocious human rights record.’