Ittihad nab Portuguese winger Jota as Tigers’ summer spending spree continues

RIYADH: Saudi football team Al-Ittihad have confirmed the signing of Portuguese winger Jota from Celtic.

The 24-year-old attacker joins French World Cup winners Karim Benzima and N’Golo Kante, who were both added to the team last month, in Jeddah as The Tigers’ bid to retain the Saudi Pro League title next season. 

Jota, who completed a medical before signing on Monday, has agreed terms that will see him in yellow and black for the next three years. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

He spent two seasons with the Scottish champions, notching up 15 goals as the Glasgow giants completed a domestic treble this past season.

The club released a video skit featuring manager Nuno Espírito Santo securing Jota’s signing. “We want to rule the world,” a cartoon version of the former Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur manager says before the clip ends with a sign: “Jota is Yellow.”

The club also put out Jota holding the Ittihad shirt next to senior club officials on Twitter on Monday.

Meanwhile, Al-Ettifaq signed English manager and former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard to be head coach at the Dammam club. The 43-year-old has been out of the game since he parted ways with Aston Villa in October.

The SPL has seen an influx of top talent, mainly from Europe’s top leagues, since the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in December as the league bids to up its profile on the international stage. 

Last month, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, announced a Sports Clubs Investment and Privatization Project involving the biggest teams of the league: Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Nassr. The deal means the PIF takes a 75 percent ownership in the clubs.