Born in 1999 and trained at the prestigious Benfica, Jota, whose full name is João Pedro Neves Filipe, quickly established himself as a promising prospect. The striker racked up a string of youth caps before making his debut for the Lisbon club. He then moved to Spain, where he played for Real Valladolid.
On his return from loan, the winger transferred to Celtic. In this mythical European soccer club, spearhead of the Scottish championship, Jota found what he was looking for. His qualities were to prove invaluable. With his speed, liveliness and powerful, precise shooting, Celtic Park became his home ground. 28 goals, 26 assists in 83 games, and successful performances on the continental stage, the Portuguese player's record in Glasgow is a success. Having already won the Portuguese championship at the age of 20 with the Eagles, he now adds four trophies to his trophy cabinet.
After two successful seasons, Jota was the logical choice for the top of the list of European scouts. The striker decided to join Saudi Arabia in 2023, at a time when the Saudi League was enjoying a new lease of life. The winger is just one of the many talents arriving in the Gulf, as Al-Ittihad spares no expense in building an XXL squad. Fabinho, N'Golo Kanté, Karim Benzema, Moussa Diaby, Laurent Blanc and Houssem Aouar are just some of the players set to defend the colors of this Saudi outfit.
we're going to fight together to get Stade Rennais back to the top of the table.
The striker played a total of 25 games (5 goals, 1 assist), missing a significant part of the season as a result of the maximum number of non-EU nationals allowed on the team sheet. His choice was Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais F.C. to return to Europe. « I'm really happy to be here, to be part of an ambitious project with talented players. It was a fantastic opportunity for me. The club has done very well in recent seasons, and we're all going to fight together to get Stade Rennais back to the top of the table. I'm coming here with a lot of ambition ».
Degemer mat João !
Olivier Cloarec, Executive President - General Manager of Stade Rennais F.C. :
« It's a great opportunity for us to sign João, a talented striker who needs no introduction, having done so himself when he played for Glasgow. We very quickly saw his determination to join the club, and we were delighted and convinced. We see his qualities as complementary to the other attacking players in the squad, and he'll be able to bring his full range of skills to Julien Stéphan's team. ».
Frederic Massara, Sporting Director of Stade Rennais F.C. :
« João is a quality player and we're counting on him to bring all his talent to our attack. »
João Pedro Neves Filipe dit Jota
Age: 25
Born: March 30, 1999, in Lisboa, Portugal
Position: Stricker
Height: 1.75m
Foot: Right
Developed at Benfica Lisboa
Professional Career :
Benfica: 34 games, including 4 in the European Cup (2 goals, 3 assists)
Real Valladolid: 18 matches (2 goals)
Celtic Glasgow: 83 matches including 10 in the European Cup (28 goals, 26 assists)
Al-Ittihad: 25 matches including 4 Asian Champions League (5 goals, 1 assist)
Honors :
Portuguese championship winner (2019)
Scottish Championship winner (2022, 2023)
Scottish Cup Winner (2023)
Scottish League Cup Winner (2023)
Euro U17 (2016), Euro U19 (2018)
