What the Celtic dressing room was telling Jota when at Rennes before his big Parkhead move

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Jota completed a stunning return to Celtic from Rennes this week.

Brendan Rodgers played a crucial role in the Celtic deal as Jota revealed how the Hoops manager wanted him to come back to the club ‘from day one’.

The Rennes fans were enraged at Jota being allowed to leave their club to join the Scottish champions but for Celtic, this is a deal that has captured the imagination of almost every single supporter in the country.

But it seems that talk of a Celtic Park return was going on well before the deal was concluded as the Portuguese winger reveals what his new teammates were messaging him when Jota was still at Rennes.

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What Celtic players were telling Jota as Rennes career stalled

Leaving Celtic for Al-Itthad in a money-spinning move, Jota saw his career take a serious nosedive as he struggled for game time at the Saudi club.

Moving to Rennes was supposed to give Jota a fresh start but it never panned out and it was here where the Celtic dressing room intervened.

Jota told Celtic TV, “Well, obviously, I kept in touch with a lot of guys from Celtic and even sometimes it was a joke like, hey, why don’t you come back?

“There was always this feeling that, OK, we know that there is a very good place over there, something that I felt really good, so why not come back one day, you know?

“Obviously, and I’m being truthful, I didn’t know that it was going to be so fast like this, but the last year and a half, it felt like 10 years. So coming here, it’s just like a great feeling of joy and happiness and I just feel at home.”

Celtic’s dressing room ‘joke of truth’ to Jota before big move from Rennes

“And then things just started to happen really quickly,” continued Jota, “And once I got in touch with everyone and I felt like, OK, it’s actually what I need for my life and that’s what I’m going to bet on. It just happened naturally.

“Like I said before, some of them always said that like in a joke, but it was a joke that it was a bit of truth. You know, we never know. But well, in the end, it happened.

“And right now, this is reality. And the most important thing is that I’m really happy to be here and I can’t wait to go.”

Jota could potentially make his Celtic debut against Motherwell this Sunday as the hype surrounding the transfer continues.

The Portuguese winger returning to Celtic has clearly captured the imagination of the fans and hopefully, Jota will turn in the same performances for Brendan Rodgers that he did under Ange Postecoglou.