How Jota's big money Saudi Pro League dream turned into a football nightmare

He was one of the first European footballers to pack his bags for Saudi Arabia, swayed by the large sums thrown around by the Saudi Pro League during the summer transfer market. But barely a month after embarking on his 'Arab dream', Portuguese star Jota's adventure in Saudi Arabia has turned into a nightmare.

On July 4, 2023 the news became official. After the zero-cost signings of Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kanté, Al-Ittihad – the main team in the city of Jeddah – announced its first signing by transfer, Celtic star Jota.

João Pedro Neves Filipe, which is the full name of this Portuguese forward who, at 24 years old, has already gone through the ranks of teams such as Benfica, Real Valladolid and aforementioned Glasgow Celtic, was signed by Al-Ittihad for around £25 million (28 million euros, $30m US)

The skilled winger signed for the Arab team for a period of three years at a rate of £10 million in annual salary. Good money if you can get it.

His signing also put all of European football on alert as he was a young footballer, which showed that Saudi Arabia, with its surprising emergence into the world football market this past summer, was not only capable of attracting old glories but also promising young up-and-comers as well.

In his last season with the Scottish team Glasgow Celtic, Jota finished the season with good numbers – 15 goals and 12 assists – and was a beloved player among fans, as well as one of the most promising Portuguese forwards at the time.

However, just a month after his signing, Al-Ittihad had a change of heart. And, according to the Saudi press, which was echoed by numerous European newspapers, Al-Ittihad had made moves to get rid of Jota by the end of August.

The main reason given by the Saudi press is that Al-Ittihad fans and board were not at all happy with Jota's signing, simply because he is not as acclaimed as some of the other players that have joined the league in recent history, such as Cristiano Ronald, Neymar Jr and Benzema.

In some media, there was also talk that it was the team's coach, his compatriot Nuno Espírito Santo, who had taken issue with Jota's lack of ability – although that seems unlikely considering the level of most football in the Saudi competition.

Conscious of keeping their fans and club board happy, Al-Ittihad decided to forgo the Portuguese winger to find some other star. They had their sights set on Liverpool's Mo Salah, but their ambitions to attract the start Egyptian ultimately fell flat.

Despite all this, Jota did not leave the team and has remained a part of the Al-Ittihad squad ever since his arrival. The trouble is it's without any possibility of playing in the Pro League itself, as the club did not register him for the competition.

The reason? Well as Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported, Saudi clubs only have the right to select eight foreign players, so Al-Ittihad decided to sacrifice, among others, Jota, so they would have space in their ranks for some bigger names, should they come along. As such, their 25 million pound man will not be able to play in the competition.

Though he cannot appear in Saudi Pro League games, he is still able to play in the domestic cup and continental competitions. In his short time as a player for Al-Ittihad, the winger has played five games, all coming off from the bench. Despite this, he was still been able to record one goal.

With all this, Jota has been left in no man's land. In Saudi Arabia, far from a Celtic team where he was a beloved squad member, and without the chance to get regular game time – a massive issue for any professional footballer.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel, however as Football Insider has linked Jota to a possible return to Celtic Park or a possible signing for English club Tottenham in the winter market with the idea of covering the important losses of footballers like Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic.

But Jota's case, though an extreme example, may not be at odds with other footballers who have moved to Saudi Arabia. According to the British newspaper The Sun columnist Charlie Wyett in mid-October 2023, “some stars hate every second they spend in Saudi Arabia.”

"Several stars who moved to Saudi Arabia deeply regret doing so. Some hate every second there," Wiett noted.

Without giving names, the journalist mentioned “embarrassing situations” that have made some of them now regret having gone there and who “now they want to return home,” but the “unbreakable contracts” they signed at the time prevented this.

Among those “embarrassing situations,” he talks about could be playing in stadiums with precarious facilities far from European standards, lack of professionalism, or little public interest. Others were said to be put off by lifestyle issues in the country, stating that they lived in hotels or were still waiting for visas for their families.

What should have been a dream for Jota, earning big money playing alongside the likes of icons such as Karim Benzema has quickly turned into a nightmare, a football prison for seemingly no good reason. We'll have to wait and see if he can find his way back into regular competition next year.