Watch: Emotional Jota in Tears After Scoring on Celtic Return

Jota broke down in tears after scoring on his Celtic return in the Hoops' 3-1 away win against Motherwell.

UK: Motherwell v Celtic, Scottish Premiership at Fir Park Stadium, Motherwell, Scotland on 02 February 2025: Pictured: Jota (Celtic) slides in to make the final score 1-3 Motherwell Fir Park Stadium Scotland Copyright: xAlexxToddx / IMAGO / Alex Todd

It was only 18 months ago that Jota left Celtic in a £25 million move to join Al-Ittihad. He spent a year there and if rumours are accurate then he earned multiple times more than he would have in Glasgow.

Yet all it took was a goal on his return in the green-and-white jersey for the Portuguese winger to break down in tears. That is football.

Jota's goal came late in the game against Motherwell with Celtic already 2-1 up. In the 94th minute to be exact.

A beautiful pass from Arne Engels sent Daizen Maeda through who then sent in a cross to set up Jota. The Portuguese winger made no mistake at the back post to score on his second Celtic debut.

It clearly meant a lot to Jota, who struck a familiar pose while celebrating his goal in front of the travelling fans.

Then the cameras caught him in tears while returning to the centre, clearly emotional as the Celtic fans started to sing 'Jota on the Wing'.

🎙️ “Jota is back!”

🔥 The winger marks his return to Celtic with a late goal ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/6FZH7LNj1x

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 2, 2025

Jota has certainly had a tough 18 months. He was out of first-team plans almost immediately after joining Al-Ittihad.

It had looked like he was starting to bring his career back on track after joining Rennes in the summer only for their manager to be sacked and be replaced by Jorge Sampaoli. As a result, once again, Jota found himself struggling for game time.

Now, back at Celtic, he has a point to prove. And while he might have had a big contract while away from Parkhead, this clearly means more to Jota than the money. His reaction after scoring was proof of that.