Porcine act of the Benzema club. The sheikhs bought the player for 29 million euros and now they are throwing him out
Nikita Paglazov September 8, 2023, 12:00 Moscow time
In July, Al-Ittihad acquired Portuguese Jota from Celtic and now he no longer fits the bill.
Unexpected news arrived from Saudi Arabia. As Itti Mania reports, citing Al Riyadh newspaper journalist Hattan Alnajar, Al Ittihad excludes Portuguese winger Jota Neves from the application. In the summer, the 24-year-old was acquired from Celtic for 29 million euros and in the 2023/2024 season he spent 133 minutes on the field (and even scored). And now they simply treat the footballer mercilessly! Which is the reason?
Saudi clubs are already experiencing financial problems!
The Saudis already have problems due to excessive spending. The Club does not have enough money for transfers
Portuguese publication Cabine Desportiva reports that Jota’s exclusion from the application is due to the banal limitation of foreign players. This is the new agreement with Al-Ittihad. On the transfer deadline day, the Club acquired Brazilian defender Luiz Felipe from Betis. The transfer amount was 25 million euros (by the way, less than Zhota). However, Al Ittihad prefers to exclude Neves from the squad and include Luis Felipe in it.
Saudi clubs can include a maximum of eight foreign players in their application. Now, in addition to Jota, it includes: Karim Benzema, Fabinho, N’Golo Kante, Romarinho, Marcelo Grohe, Igor Coronado and Abderrazak Hamdalla. There are much more modest names compared to Zhota. Perhaps the reason for the exclusion of the Portuguese lies elsewhere?
jot
Photo: Getty Images
Journalist Muhammad Al-Bakiri reported at the end of August that the winger wanted to leave Saudi Arabia. The source did not say what exactly the reason for Zhota’s desire is. But probably with difficult adaptation in the country. Still, Saudi Arabia has strict laws that are not entirely familiar to residents of European countries (there were rumors in the media about Zhota’s attitude towards the LGBT community, which, however, were not confirmed).
Where did Jota play before?
Jota graduated from Benfica. He spent the 2019/2020 season in the main team, playing 34 games, scoring two goals and providing three assists. Then, loans to Valladolid and Celtic. In the summer of 2022, the Scots bought the player from Benfica for 16.2 million euros and Jota showed himself well at Celtic in the 2022/2023 season: 43 games, 15 goals and 12 assists. The successful play probably influenced Al-Ittihad’s decision to add the winger to his team.
jot
Photo: Fran Santiago/Getty Images
Transfermarkt estimates Jota’s value at 13 million euros, he is not the most expensive and highest quality option for European clubs. Jota can still change clubs if he breaks his contract with Al-Ittihad and signs a new deal as a free agent. Or there is an option with championships where the transfer window is not closed yet (hello, Russia). Overall, Jota is a valuable enough footballer to simply sit in a Saudi cage for six months. And his story is the first alarm signal for the footballers who arrived in Saudi Arabia.
Who decided that Al-Ittihad needed Jota?
Saudi clubs do not choose their stars. All league transfers are managed by the prince
