Jota was back on the wing for Celtic yesterday afternoon and there were happy tears.
The wideman made his triumphant return for the Hoops in a comfortable 3-1 win over Motherwell and he put the ball in the net to complete the scoring for his side.
That moment brought the Portuguese to tears in what was an emotional scene at Fir Park as he raced back to the halfway line while attempting to compose himself.
It has been a difficult time in the 25-year-old’s career with his £25million switch to Al-Ittihad not working out before his move to Rennes was also a tough spell with a lack of game time there, too.
“Yeah, it has been some quite difficult moments, ups and downs and I just feel like I am back home and I couldn’t be happier than this,” he said after the action.
“Obviously, it has been a long time since I have been playing consecutively and I know it will take time to reach my best levels.
“But with these amazing staff and team-mates I will work hard every day so I can achieve that as quick as possible.”
ITV Football posted a Jota Celtic tribute
Jota‘s tears were the subject of a somewhat bizarre post from ITV Football – who don’t share much about Scottish Premiership football on the day-to-day.
They posted: “This moment,” with pictures of the tears and the goal celebrations as they accompanied it with a tearful emoji.
Fans were buzzing with the shoutout for their favourite on the pitch but some were left a tad confused at the broadcaster’s decision to post about the Hoops.
What Celtic fans said about Jota’s happy tears
One fan wrote: “When things are just meant to be,” as another wrote: “I love him,” with a crying emoji.
A third added: “Our superstar from Portugal”.
One questioned: “Why are ITV posting this when they have no interest in Scottish football? When was the last time ITV showed a Scottish football match?”
Others were happy to see their Bhoy back.
One said: “Jota emotional after his goal today, can see just how much it means to him being back home”.
Another wrote: “We know the end of that game meant it belonged to Jota.”
One added: “Absolute scenes it was written in the stars for Jota to score on his return,” with a Portugal flag emoji.
A fourth noted: “Jota scoring and then crying because the fans started singing his song.
“Don’t ever tell me it’s just a game.
“He needed that more than we knew. I just love him”.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
