Jota doesn't regret leaving Celtic for Al-Ittihad despite experiencing a turbulent 12 months in Saudi-Arabia.
The 25-year-old earned the Scottish giants £25million last summer, but went on to struggle for regular game time at the Saudi Pro League outfit.
He was subsequently sold to Stade Rennais a year later for £8m as he looks to regain the form that saw him light up Scottish football under Ange Postecoglou's leadership.
The one-time Celtic hero has been named on the bench for his new teams Ligue 1 clash against Montpellier on Sunday, and speaking before the match, the Portuguese winger said: “I’m at peace with what happened in Saudi Arabia, I’m myself. Life goes on.
“I just have to be myself, be happy. It was probably one of the years when I learned the most.
Read more:
-
Slovan Bratislava boss Vladimir Weiss could miss Celtic UCL clash
-
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says tying down Greg Taylor is a real priority
"I have no regrets. I’m proud of everything I’ve done, it’s made me the person I am today. If I hadn’t done that, I might not be here."
Asked why he chose to sign for Rennes following a summer filled with transfer speculation, Jota continued: “A number of things attracted me to Rennes. Firstly, I think that any player would want to play in one of the five top leagues in Europe. And secondly, the club’s project itself. I think it’s is a great club to progress at.
“There’s a lot of talent, the atmosphere is good and the facilities are good too. There are very good foundations here for improving and performing against the best.”
Jota was then probed on what he's expecting from this latest chapter in his career - and he drew parallels to the unknown feeling that he was left with prior to arriving at Celtic three years ago.
“I think every place is different so I’m not expecting this to be the same thing as I didn’t know what to expect what Celtic was," he explained.
“So I don’t make assumptions or whatever. It will go the way it has to go and it will flow the way it has to be.
“So I’m just open-minded and have my eyes opened for everything and just want to be the best version of myself and to help everyone to achieve their goals in the club and to give a lot of joy to the supporters as well.”
