Jota.

I actually got think there’s a chance they signed the wrong Jota. There’s no doubt in my mind that he loved it here, but there’s also no doubt that he’d have accepted £100k per week. Very likely less.

£200k per week, presumably on a tax free basis, isn’t just set your family up for life money - it’s private yacht type money. While you’re rich either way, there’s a huge difference between what you can buy earning £20k per week, and £200k per week.

 

But if Kante and Benzema are on like £1million a week, you probably aren't going to take £100k especially as you are badly affecting your chances of playing real football again. You must lose some quality playing and training against a lot of players who are probably Clyde and Montrose level for a couple of years.

 

Isn’t the team he’s at pretty good? Thought it was fairly full of elite players which is what is keeping him out.

The jump up in wages between Kante/Benzema seem much smaller than Jota’s.

Had a Google and wish I hadn’t. The numbers involved are just obscene

 

Which Jota did they think they were signing then?

 

Nobody was going to turn down the sort of money he was offered but the move has been absolute waste of his talent.

 

Going to Saudi at his age was a ridiculous decision. Completely wasted a year of football, maybe more, after he was just beginning to settle and finally fulfill some of his potential.

You don't go to Saudi unless your a greedy person, its a footballing backwater where over-the-hill players or mercenaries go to retire and/or fizzle away. I'd somewhat understand it if you were over 30, looking for a final payday etc. But a 23 y/o who had 2 good years in Scotland? Silly stuff.

Hopefully he finds himself at a decent club in Europe, but he only has himself to blame for purely chasing the $$$.

 

https://www.al-jazirah.com/2024/20240820/sp11.htm#google_vignette

Al-Jazeera sources revealed that the Ittihad administration informed professional player Guta of their unwillingness to continue with the team during the upcoming period, and presented him with an offer to move to a Saudi club. The sources indicate that Guta rejected the idea of moving to a Saudi club, demanding that he sign a release and receive all his financial dues, as his desire is to return to Europe again. The administration is trying to reach a solution, especially since he is no longer in the calculations of the team coach Laurent Blanc, who excluded him from participating with the team in group training and the last friendly match against Al-Qadisiyah. The player was present in individual training despite not suffering any injury, unlike his fellow defender Luis Felipe, who was continuing his treatment program and was absent from the last Al-Qadisiyah match due to injury. The sources indicate that coach Laurent Blanc has no problem with him continuing if the administration fails to contract with another foreign defender. The Ittihad administration is intensifying its negotiations to strengthen the team's ranks before the end of the current summer transfer period, and the administration is looking for the positions of winger and defender. In another context, the team began yesterday to prepare for the match against Al-Khulud, which will be held next Saturday in King Abdullah Sports City in Buraidah, through the training that the team conducted yesterday after the rest that the coach gave to the players the day before yesterday. The coach will focus, starting from today’s training, on the tactical aspects that he will adopt in the match against Al-Khulud and reducing the fitness training that was done throughout the past period in the

 

Hard to imagine they have so many good players that Jota isn't good enough to play. Do they have limits on the numbers of foreign players who can be rostered maybe?

 

Rumour has it he had major regrets after 2 weeks out there. Suppose his bank balance looks good though

 

Poor Guta…

 

Yes. And apparently they were looking at replacing him with another European within a month of his arrival. Not sure the details, and if it actually happened, but they definitely seemed to want to loan him almost immediately. Pretty sure he said "no chance!" and they then blackballed him

 

PRAY FOR GUTA!!!

 

That makes sense then in terms of why it has been that bad a situation for him footballing wise.

 

Hard to have much sympathy for him tbh. Was on the fringes of the Portugal squad while he was here but chased the money going to an absolute farce of a league and has had an absolute * of a year

 

Bring him home

 

Not sure he's actually looking for any sympathy... He's made plenty of money to set himself for life, and if he's a proper pro he's still been training on some of the best facilities and with some of the best foreign talent in the world. He can take a move, get in 6 months of sharpening up his skills and match fitness and it'll be like it never happened... Players get longer injuries than this all the time and recover... He'll be fine!

 

Not sure how the payments on this went, but if he wasn't stuck on huge wages while here, I'd certainly ask about cancelling out remaining payments and bringing him back. Why not?

 

Zero chance of that mate.. our board will have already calculated how much interest we'll get from the payments..

 

He has made what? £200,00 a week for a year so far.
That is £10.4M in his bank, at least!
He has 2 years left on this deal that will cost the Saudis £22M+
They paid £25M for him. Imagine they cut the loss and let him leave for say £10M or £15M
Jota would absolutely come back here with £10M in his pocket for a year's service.
Everything I read and hear is he is determined to get out of this deal WITHOUT asking for any money due.
They will save that £22M and he can leave for a fee we COULD afford.

This is massive * material
Or I am in Hun thinking territory