All through this week, I heard people express their disappoint, even disbelief, that Jota had not yet said “goodbye to the fans.” I wondered why he should. Why he would. We didn’t need to hear it, and the notion that he’s “one of our own” is manifestly ridiculous. His commitment to the cause has been established. It’s non-existent, seeing that he’s gone.
This stuff increasingly bugs me; some guy who’s not been at Celtic five minutes and couldn’t get out the door quick enough telling us how much he loves us and the club.
We love the club. We demonstrate that by putting our money into it. See how it works? The difference between us and some guy who leaves the club chasing the money is pretty clear.
I have no doubt that he will have fond memories of Celtic, but then, he’s made damned sure that this is as good as it gets. Because he’ll never play in front of fans like us again, and his football career will be set back years by his money-oriented decision to head for the desert.
I heard weeks ago that Jota would go in this window, so he can talk about “life changing opportunities” all that he wants, but he and his agent were angling for a move whether to Saudi Arabia or somewhere else and he’d have gone anyway.
He was always going to chase money this time around, he felt no sense of loyalty to Celtic whatsoever, and so his badge kissing doesn’t impress me one bit.
I haven’t watched his video and I have no intention of watching it.
I wasn’t crying out to hear this stuff, it will not cement some special status in my eyes, he’s just another mercenary who gave us a couple of good years and left us with a hefty transfer fee.
He gets my thanks, he doesn’t need more and I neither do I.
Regular readers know what I think of the move, and about the people he is helping to legitimise. None of that is why I won’t watch his statement.
I won’t watch it because he’s gone, he’s left and I don’t need a pat on the head.
My focus is on the guys actually at Celtic, and the ones in particular who just signed new contracts. They get it. They really get it and we know that because here they still are.
He came, did a job and he’s gone. He didn’t stay long enough to inspire devotion and so if I sound like I couldn’t care it’s because I genuinely don’t.