John Hartson has defended Celtic star Jota as he closes in on a transfer to Saudi Arabian Pro League side, Al-Ittihad.
The Celtic legend posted on Twitter that Jota has been a ‘marvellous’ player for the club and ‘absolutely you would’ take the ‘mind boggling’ money that is being offered to these players.
It has been suggested that if the transfer goes ahead, then the Scottish champions will bank, with add-ons included, a possible record £25 million for that deal.
When it comes to wages, it has also been suggested, by The Scottish Daily Mail, that Jota could be earning an eye-opening £10m-per-year.
Both from the player’s and the club’s perspective, this simply can’t be turned down and it’s only a matter of time before the Treble winner is playing alongside the likes of N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad.
Whilst some might question why the versatile forward would leave for such a lesser league in quality at this stage of his career, former Bhoys striker Hartson had an opposite view.
‘Jota has been a marvellous player,” said Hartson. “But the money the lad will earn is mind-boggling. £££ will turn player’s/manager’s heads, it’s a fact of life.
“Think, would you leave your job for 6/7 times your salary? Absolutely you would.”
Money for Rodgers to invest?
Celtic already have the Champions League pot they could hand to their returning manager and he might not believe his luck if he is given a few extra now.
It will be interesting to see just how much money is handed to the manager this summer and who he will target to replace Jota, who got into double figures for both goals and assists under Ange Postecoglou last season.
Plus, whilst Jota has been important to Celtic’s success, at least, as of this moment, Kyogo is still in the building because if he stays beyond this summer, then it will be a result in itself.
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