Benfica 2017–2019: Early years Born in
Lisbon, Jota started his career at Ginásio de Corroios, before joining
Benfica's youth ranks in 2007. He made his debut for the club's
B team on 23 January 2016, replacing
Dálcio in the 62nd minute in a 2–1 home loss to
Varzim. On 18 October 2018, he made his debut for the first team in a 3–0 away win over
Sertanense in the third round of the
Taça de Portugal. He won the 2017–18
Campeonato Nacional de Juniores and helped the team reach the final of the
2016–17 UEFA Youth League. On 1 February 2019, Jota was promoted to Benfica's first team, alongside three other Benfica B players. Following his
Primeira Liga debut in a 4–0 home win over
Chaves on 24 February, he made his European debut on 14 March, as a first choice, in a 3–0
extra time win over
Dinamo Zagreb in the second leg of
UEFA Europa League round of 16. After failing to impress manager
Bruno Lage, Jota was used sporadically and found limited first-team minutes, scoring only two goals in the
2019–20 Taça da Liga against
Sporting da Covilhã on 3 December and
Vitória de Setúbal on 21 December.
2019–2020: Loan to Valladolid On 5 October 2020, Jota moved to
La Liga side
Real Valladolid on loan for the
2020–21 season. On his debut on 22 November he came on as a 77th-minute substitute for
Óscar Plano and scored the final goal of a 3–1 win at
Granada, but he added no more goals in 17 games for the rest of the season, which saw the team relegated.
Celtic 2021–22: Breakthrough On 1 September 2021, Jota joined
Scottish Premiership club
Celtic on loan for the
2021–22 season, with an option to buy for £6.5 million. Ten days later, he made his debut for Celtic in a 3–0 home win over
Ross County, playing the entire game. Jota scored his first goal for the club in a victory against
Raith Rovers in the quarter final of the
Scottish League Cup on 23 September. He scored his first league goal on 3 October, a late winner in a 2–1 away win to
Aberdeen. Having scored six goals in 15 appearances, including two in a 4–2 win at
Dundee on 7 November and four assists, he was awarded the
SPFL's
Player of the Month for both October and November, prompting calls for Celtic to activate the option to buy in his loan contract. On 25 November, Jota scored in a 3–2 away defeat at
Bayer Leverkusen in the
UEFA Europa League. A hamstring injury in early December forced him out of the club's
League Cup victory against
Hibernian. He made his return from injury on 17 January 2022, in a 2–0 home win over
Hibernian. After several games without a goal or an assist, on 9 April he assisted Celtic's third goal in a 7–0 win over
St Johnstone. In the next matches, Jota scored and assisted twice, earning him the SPFL Player of the Month award for April. On 1 May, he scored his first goal in the
Old Firm derby, a 1–1 draw against
Rangers at
Celtic Park. He finished the season with 13 goals and 14 assists, as the club's
top assist provider for the season; 10 of those assists were in the league, the
second-highest total, helping Celtic win their 10th
Scottish Premiership title in 11 years.
2022–23: Domestic treble and departure 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. Jota started the
2022–23 season by closing Celtic's 2–0 home win against Aberdeen. 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. On 3 September, he scored a goal with a chip against arch rivals Rangers in a 4–0 win at Parkhead. On 14 September, Jota was named
player of the match in Celtic's 1–1 draw against
Shakhtar Donetsk in the
2022–23 UEFA Champions League. He scored his first
UEFA Champions League goal on 5 October in a 3–1 group stage loss to
RB Leipzig.
Al-Ittihad On 3 July 2023,
Al-Ittihad confirmed the signing of Jota for £25 million, a club record fee paid for a player. He joined the likes of
Karim Benzema and
N'Golo Kanté at Al-Ittihad as part of the massive investment into
Saudi Pro League football by the
PIF. He scored his first goal for the club on 28 August 2023 in a 3–0 win against
Al-Wehda after coming on as a substitute for Benzema, but was later left out of the club's domestic squad by manager
Nuno Espírito Santo, with only eight foreign players being allowed as per Saudi league rules.
Rennes On 30 August 2024, Jota signed for
Ligue 1 club
Rennes on a three-year contract, with the transfer fee reported as €10 million. He later told French media that his former teammate
N'Golo Kanté had recommended the move to
Brittany. After less than five months in France, and being frozen out of the first team, he made a return to Celtic.
Return to Celtic Jota's return to Celtic for a £8.4 million fee was announced on 27 January 2025. He took the number 7 shirt—previously worn by club legends
Jimmy Johnstone and
Henrik Larsson—after
Luis Palma went on loan to
Olympiacos. He made his official re-debut with Celtic on 2 February 2025, scoring in the 94th minute against
Motherwell at
Fir Park, in a 3–1 Celtic victory. On 26 April 2025, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in a 5–0 win away to
Dundee United, with the initial injury report being that he would be out of action for a nine month spell. In January 2026, Celtic manager
Martin O'Neill provided an update on Jota's injury, stating that he had suffered a setback in his recovery that would require keyhole surgery, meaning he would miss the entire of the
2025–26 season. ==International career==