When Jota can play again revealed as Celtic hero branded 'collateral damage' in stinging Saudi warning

Celtic hero Jota will be unable to turn out for a new club until January even if he has his money-spinning Al-Ittihad contract is ripped up.

It comes with the 24-year-old understood to be seeking talks with his current employers over a potential instant exit only months into his £192,000 per-week contract which runs until the summer of 2026. Jota was understood to be open to a sensational Parkhead return but UEFA rules state he will not be able to play for any European club until after Christmas leaving him facing a spell in football purgatory. Players seeking to move to a new club must have their deals terminated outwith the set signing periods.

And the latest twist to the bombshell saga comes after his treatment in Saudi Arabia has been branded "collateral damage" in a wide–ranging report into the Saudi summer splurge which rocked world football. French outlet Le Figaro has crunched the numbers and highlighted the omission of the Celtic favourite from Al-Ittihad as a cautionary tale of the dangers which lie in wait of not making the cut with a eight foreign player rule in effect in the Saudi Pro League.

Article 15 of FIFA regulations state players can evoke to exit a contract using 'Sporting Just Cause' but a key factor of this coming into effect is based on players who play less than 10 per cent of games over a season. It is not pre-emptive even though Jota can point to the fact he has been banished from his team's squad for the first half of the season as evidence in a pursuit to end his ill-fated time in Saudi sharpish.

Jota is technically still available to turn out for his current side in their Asian Champions League games, however, his absence against AGMK was put down to an injury issue.