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There have been eyebrows raised in recent days over the potential transfer of Jota to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad but there should be no great surprise at the choice of his destination.

The smart money had been on the Celtic winger heading to the English Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur – Ange Postecoglou's new club – said to be the most obvious suitors for a player who had been a key part in the Australian's Treble winning feats at Parkhead. But, speak to some seasoned observers who covered Celtic last season, and they will tell you that there was a sense that Postecoglou had started to feel that the Portuguese attacker had become a little too big for his boots.

In attempting to make sense of his impending transfer to Saudi, of why a 24-year-old who is just about to enter his prime years would forgo a move up the European ladder, there have been some attempts at justification for the decision. The £10m salary is one factor, the opportunity to play in a league where Cristiano Ronaldo will still attract the attention of the Portugal manager, Roberto Martinez, is another – as fatuous as it sounds. There is also the knowledge that he is still young and can return after a couple of seasons as a very rich man with plenty of years left to make an impact on the European stage.

But none of those explanations are the main reason for the choice of Saudi Arabia, however. Indeed, the key explanation revolves around player representation and one of the biggest, most influential names in the world. It is this man's presence which helps to explain why – at face value – Jota is moving to Saudi Arabia even if there appears to be little sense from a career development perspective. It requires a degree of knowledge about the workings of how transfers and players' futures are often controlled by that of their agents.

The Herald:

Specifically, we are talking about Gestifute, the agency owned by the super agent Jorge Mendes. It is possible to reel off multiple transfers over the past couple of decades that caused a stir when they were announced. Not long after they had won the Champions League in 2004, Portugal international midfielders Costinha and Maniche along with the Brazilian striker Derlei joined Dynamo Moscow from Porto. The common denominator? Dynamo were suddenly cash rich after an infusion of funds from Alexey Fedorychev, Russia's 100th richest man, and, of course, the trio also happened to be represented by Mendes and Gestifute. In more recent times, Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes and a slew of other exciting, uber-talented Portuguese players have ended up at Wolverhampton Wanderers when expected to move elsewhere. 'Why Wolves?' the people exclaimed. Why, indeed? There was a simple answer, though, and it was Jorge Mendes and Gestifute.

When the Chinese government suddenly started chucking money at football in much the same way that the Saudis are doing now, there was a rush of Europe's top stars to move there. And why was that? Well, you can probably see where this is going, can't you? Hulk, another former Porto star, who took a detour to then Russian super club Zenit St Petersburg (where he joined former Porto centre half Bruno Alves and another Gestifute client Danny Alves, who, coincidentally had also been at Dynamo Moscow with Costinha et al) before ending up in China, for example, is a Gestifute client.

And so to Saudi Arabia itself. Let's look at the list of players who have now moved or are now being linked with transfers to super rich clubs offering life-changing sums of money. Oh, look, there's Ruben Neves, who will be a team-mate of Jota's at Al-Ittihad after leaving Wolves, the de facto UK arm of Gestifute. And there's Gestifute poster boy Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr. Oh, and another of Mendes' favourite sons, Bernardo Silva, he's wanted in the Pro League, too. So, remind me, who is it that Jota is represented by again?