A late attempt to sign Jota on loan by Steven Gerrard failed with the Portuguese facing months on the sidelines at Al Ittihad.
The former Rangers boss tried to sign the ex-Celtic wide man on loan for Al-Ettifaq with just minutes remaining of the Saudi Pro League transfer window, which closed on Thursday night.
Jota is set to be axed from the ittihad squad as they prepare to register new signing Luiz Felipe instead. Saudi clubs can only register eight foreign players and the signing of the former Betis defender - who now won't face Rangers in the Europa League group stage - means Jota is the player set to miss out.
Gerrard, who will have watched on as Jota did the business against his former employers in the Scottish Premiership, spotted an opportunity to add some real quality to his Ettifaq squad late on deadline day.