Former Celtic star to ‘consider’ contract termination as salary demand set

Former Celtic winger Jota is reportedly considering the termination of his Al-Ittihad contract just months after completing his £25 million transfer exit from Parkhead.

The 24-year-old’s move to the Saudi Pro League club quickly turned into a nightmare when he was left out of the manager Nuno Esporito Santo’s squad registration for domestic fixtures, having played just 133 minutes of football across five appearances.

Teams in the Middle East are limited to signing just eight foreign players, meaning Jota is now ineligible to start any league games and can only feature for Al-Ittihad in the Asian Champions League and Club World Cup.

Espirito Santo claimed last week the player was nursing an injury which saw him play no part against Uzbekistan side FC AGMK on Monday night. He stated: “Jota left the Al Hilal match due to injuries, and is currently improving continuously. There is nothing serious. I will meet with the medical team to determine his readiness but a return date is unknown.”

It has since been reported that the Portuguese star - who penned a three-year-deal in July - is preparing to hold talks with club officials to be released from his contract, but will refuse to do so without demanding he be paid his entire salary in full.

Transfer expert Rudy Galetti claims Jota will evaluate his situation and whether to wait until January for a chance to be reinstated to the first-team squad or discuss leaving on a free transfer. However, a possible complication to any contract termination could come from his wages worth up to £200k per week.

Galetti reports: “Al-Ittihad decided that Jota will stay out of the team until the winter transfer session. This is now evaluating either to wait until January hoping that the club’s and Nuno’s decision will change or start talks to terminate his contract, asking for full salary.”