 Jota in 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Pedro Neves Filipe[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1999-03-30)30 March 1999 (age 26)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Celtic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2018 | Benfica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Benfica B | 46 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Benfica | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | →Valladolid (loan) | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | →Celtic (loan) | 29 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Celtic | 33 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Al-Ittihad | 17 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Rennes | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Celtic | 11 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Portugal U15 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Portugal U16 | 9 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Portugal U17 | 15 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Portugal U19 | 20 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Portugal U20 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Portugal U21 | 18 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 6 June 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
João Pedro Neves Filipe (30 March 1999), known asJota (Portuguese pronunciation:[ʒɔtɐ]), is a Portuguese professionalfootballer who plays as awinger forScottish Premiership clubCeltic. He is known for his passing and dribbling ability.
Born inLisbon, Jota came throughBenfica's youth academy. He began playing forBenfica B in 2018 and was promoted to the first team a year later, but played only a few minutes. He was loaned toLa Liga clubReal Valladolid in 2020 andScottish Premiership clubCeltic in 2021, winning theleague andScottish League Cup, before joining the club permanently for£6.5 million in the summer of 2022. In July 2023, Jota joinedSaudi Pro League sideAl-Ittihad for a reported £25 million. In August 2024, he joinedLigue 1 clubRennes. In January 2025, he returned to Celtic.
Jota is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at various levels, includingthe under-17 team that won the2016 European Championship, theunder-19 team that won the2018 European Championship and theunder-21 team that finished as runners-up at the2021 European Championship.
Born inLisbon, Jota started his career at Ginásio de Corroios, before joiningBenfica's youth ranks in 2007. He made his debut for the club'sB team on 23 January 2016, replacingDálcio in the 62nd minute in a 2–1 home loss toVarzim. On 18 October 2018, he made his debut for the first team in a 3–0 away win overSertanense in the third round of theTaça de Portugal.[2][3] He won the 2017–18Campeonato Nacional de Juniores and helped the team reach the final of the2016–17 UEFA Youth League.[4]
On 1 February 2019, Jota was promoted to Benfica's first team, alongside three other Benfica B players.[5] Following hisPrimeira Liga debut in a 4–0 home win overChaves on 24 February, he made his European debut on 14 March, as a first choice, in a 3–0extra time win overDinamo Zagreb in the second leg ofUEFA Europa League round of 16. After failing to impress managerBruno Lage, Jota was used sporadically and found limited first-team minutes, scoring only two goals in the2019–20 Taça da Liga againstSporting da Covilhã on 3 December andVitória de Setúbal on 21 December.[6]
On 5 October 2020, Jota moved toLa Liga sideReal Valladolid on loan for the2020–21 season.[7] On his debut on 22 November he came on as a 77th-minute substitute forÓscar Plano and scored the final goal of a 3–1 win atGranada, but he added no more goals in 17 games for the rest of the season, which saw the team relegated.[8]
On 1 September 2021, Jota joinedScottish Premiership clubCeltic on loan for the2021–22 season, with an option to buy for £6.5 million.[9] Ten days later, he made his debut for Celtic in a 3–0 home win overRoss County, playing the entire game.[10] Jota scored his first goal for the club in a victory againstRaith Rovers in the quarter final of theScottish League Cup on 23 September.[11] He scored his first league goal on 3 October, a late winner in a 2–1 away win toAberdeen.[12] Having scored six goals in 15 appearances, including two in a 4–2 win atDundee on 7 November and four assists, he was awarded theSPFL'sPlayer of the Month for both October and November, prompting calls for Celtic to activate the option to buy in his loan contract.[13][14][15] On 25 November, Jota scored in a 3–2 away defeat atBayer 04 Leverkusen in theUEFA Europa League.[16]
A hamstring injury in early December forced him out of the club'sLeague Cup victory againstHibernian.[17] He made his return from injury on 17 January 2022, in a 2–0 home win overHibernian.[18] After several games without a goal or an assist, on 9 April he assisted Celtic's third goal in a 7–0 win overSt Johnstone.[19] In the next matches, Jota scored and assisted twice, earning him the SPFL Player of the Month award for April.[20] On 1 May, he scored his first goal in theOld Firm derby, a 1–1 draw againstRangers atCeltic Park.[21] He finished the season with 13 goals and 14 assists, as the club'stop assist provider for the season; 10 of those assists were in the league, thesecond-highest total, helping Celtic win their 10thScottish Premiership title in 11 years.[22][23]
On 1 July 2022, Celtic triggered Jota's buyout clause of £6.5 million, signing him on a permanent five-year deal, with Benfica also receiving 30% of a future transfer.[24][25] Jota started the2022–23 season by closing Celtic's 2–0 home win against Aberdeen.[26] On 6 August, he provided a hat-trick of assists for the first time in his career as Celtic beat Ross County 3–1 away from home.[27] On 3 September, he scored a goal with a chip against arch rivals Rangers in a 4–0 win at Parkhead.[28] On 14 September, Jota was namedplayer of the match in Celtic's 1–1 draw againstShakhtar Donetsk in the2022–23 UEFA Champions League.[29] He scored his firstUEFA Champions League goal on 5 October in a 3–1 group stage loss toRB Leipzig.[30]
On 3 July 2023,Al-Ittihad confirmed the signing of Jota for £25 million, a club record fee paid for a player.[31] He joined the likes ofKarim Benzema andN'Golo Kanté at Al-Ittihad as part of the massive investment intoSaudi Pro League football by thePIF. He scored his first goal for the club on 28 August 2023 in a 3–0 win againstAl-Wehda after coming on as a substitute for Benzema,[32] but was later left out of the club's domestic squad by managerNuno Espírito Santo, with only eight foreign players being allowed as per Saudi league rules.[33]
On 30 August 2024, Jota signed forLigue 1 clubRennes on a three-year contract, with the transfer fee reported as €10 million.[34] He later told French media that his former teammateN'Golo Kanté had recommended the move toBrittany.[35]
After less than five months in France, and being frozen out of the first team,[36] he made a return to Celtic.
Jota's return to Celtic for a £8.4 million fee was announced on 27 January 2025.[37] He took the number 7 shirt—previously worn by club legendsJimmy Johnstone andHenrik Larsson—afterLuis Palma went on loan toOlympiacos.[38] He made his official re-debut with Celtic on 2 February 2025, scoring in the 94th minute againstMotherwell atFir Park, in a 3–1 Celtic victory.[39]
Jota earned 73caps and scored 26 goals for Portugal across all youth levels, starting with a 2–1 win for theunder-15 team against Switzerland inCampo Maior on 10 June 2014. He went with theunder-17 team to the2016 UEFA European Championship in Azerbaijan, scoring in the penalty shootout win over neighboursSpain in the final.[40]
At the2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Georgia, Jota was part of thePortugal team that finished runners-up toEngland. In the final group game, he scored a late penalty as they came back to draw 2–2 withSweden.[41] He was in the squad for the2018 tournament, beatingItaly 4–3 in the final after extra time.[42][43] He also finished joint top scorer in the tournament with five goals,[44] and was named in the Team of the Tournament.[45]
In March 2021, Jota took part in the2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Hungary and Slovenia. He scored in extra time as the team beatItaly 5–3 in the quarter-finals at theStožice Stadium. Portugal finished as runners-up, after losing in the final 1–0 toGermany.[46][47]
In October 2022, he was included in a provisional squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup inQatar,[48] but did not make the final cut.[49]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Benfica B | 2016–17 | Liga Portugal 2 | 13 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Liga Portugal 2 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||||
| 2018–19 | Liga Portugal 2 | 20 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 8 | |||||
| Total | 46 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 46 | 9 | ||||||
| Benfica | 2018–19[51] | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[52] | Primeira Liga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 28 | 2 | |
| Total | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 2 | ||
| Valladolid (loan) | 2020–21[53] | La Liga | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 18 | 2 | |||
| Celtic (loan) | 2021–22[54] | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6[f] | 2 | — | 40 | 13 | |
| Celtic | 2022–23[55] | Scottish Premiership | 33 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4[g] | 2 | — | 43 | 15 | |
| Total | 62 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 4 | — | 83 | 28 | |||
| Al-Ittihad | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[h] | 1 | 8[i] | 0 | 29 | 5 | |
| Rennes | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Celtic | 2024–25 | Scottish Premiership | 11 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 2[g] | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 184 | 40 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 235 | 52 | ||
Benfica
Celtic
Portugal U17
Individual
