Jota (footballer)

Celta Vigo

Jota finished his development with Galician club Celta de Vigo, after joining the club's youth system at the age of 13. He made his first-team debut on 29 January 2011, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Enrique de Lucas in a 1–1 draw with Barcelona B in the Segunda División. Jota played twice in April 2011, making his first start in a 1–0 win away to Albacete on 17 April – he lasted 73 minutes before being replaced by Mateo – and finished the 2010–11 season with four appearances. His only first-team appearance of the 2011–12 season came as a 73rd-minute substitute for Joan Tomàs in a 3–1 Copa del Rey third round win over Real Valladolid on 12 October 2011. He did however captain and top-score for Celta's B-team as they finished bottom of the 2011–12 Segunda División B. With Celta's first team back in La Liga for the 2012–13 season, Jota was not in the manager's plans, and he spent the next season out on loan.

Real Madrid B (loan)

Although he said he only wanted to leave on a permanent transfer, Jota was loaned to Real Madrid Castilla, newly promoted to the Segunda División for the 2012–13 season. The deal included an option to puchase for a fee of around €1 million. Mostly confined to the bench, he made just three appearances.

Eibar (loan)

On Jota's return to Celta, he found new manager Luis Enrique equally willing to dispense with his services, so he again went out on loan, joining Eibar for the 2013–14 Segunda División season. He instantly broke into the team and made 37 appearances during the season. On 25 May 2014, Jota scored the only goal of the game at home to Deportivo Alavés that confirmed Eibar's promotion to La Liga for the first time in the club's history. Jota finished the season with 11 goals and collected a Segunda División winners' medal after Eibar were promoted as champions. In recognition of his performances, Jota was one of three nominees for the Best Attacking Midfielder award at the 2014 LFP Awards – he lost out to Ayoze Pérez – and was named in the division's Team of the Year.

Departure

Eduardo Berizzo – Luis Enrique's successor – saw Jota as part of his vision for Celta. The club opened talks with Jota's father, who acted as his representative, over a contract extension, but no agreement could be reached. Injury kept the player out of pre-season, and his omission from the team at the beginning of the season was attributed to concerns he might suffer a relapse, and had no connection to his contractual situation. Jota left Celta in August 2014, having made just five senior appearances.

2014–15

On 15 August 2014, Jota signed a three-year deal with English club Brentford, newly promoted to the Championship, for an undisclosed fee, reported in Spain as €1.5 million. He made his debut as a 64th-minute substitute for Moses Odubajo in a 2–1 victory over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road four days later. He made his first start for the Bees in the following game, against Birmingham City, but lasted only 17 minutes before being sacrificed for Harlee Dean after Tony Craig received a straight red card. On his seventh appearance, Jota scored his first goal for the club – firing the ball into the top corner during first-half stoppage-time – in a 2–0 win over Leeds United at Griffin Park on 27 September. He scored again the following Saturday, converting Alan McCormack's cross for the opening goal in a 3–1 victory over Reading.

In mid-November and after two goals in 15 games, Jota revealed that the intensity of the English game meant that he was playing at only 60–70% of his capabilities. He rediscovered his form in late November, scoring four goals in his next four matches – one of which, the winner against West London rivals Fulham, was chosen as the Bees Player Outstanding Moment of the Season – and earning a place in the Football League Team of the Week for his performance and goal in a 3–2 victory over Cardiff City on 20 December. His Cardiff strike, in which he "curled a stunning shot into the top corner from outside the corner of the penalty area", was nominated as Brentford's entry for the 2014 Mitre Goal of the Year award.

In late March and early April 2015, Jota scored three goals in four matches to help maintain the Bees' playoff push. He was named as one of FourFourTwo magazine's top 40 Football League players of the season. In the final game of the season on 2 May, Jota scored and assisted Andre Gray in a 3–0 home win over Wigan Athletic, winning a place in the Football League Team of the Week. The win confirmed Brentford in a fifth-place finish, which meant they would face Middlesbrough in the playoff semi-finals, but Jota's first season in English football ended in a 5–1 aggregate defeat. He made 46 appearances and scored 11 goals.

2015–16

Jota's 2015–16 season was halted on the opening day versus Ipswich Town when he damaged ankle ligaments in a tackle by former Brentford teammate Jonathan Douglas. He underwent surgery ten days later, and returned to action on 5 December, as a late substitute for Ryan Woods in a 2–0 victory over Milton Keynes Dons. After three further substitute appearances, Jota agreed to Brentford including an option to extend his contract to June 2018, as a precursor to his leaving the club on loan for personal reasons.

Return to Eibar (loan)

On 16 January 2016, Jota returned to Eibar, now playing in La Liga, on an 18-month loan. Eight days later, he made his first appearance in Spain's top division, replacing Saúl Berjón after 57 minutes of a 5–2 loss at Athletic Bilbao. He made 20 appearances without scoring over the second half of the 2015–16 season and the first half of 2016–17 before being recalled by Brentford.

2016–17

Jota was recalled from loan by Brentford during the January 2017 transfer window, and made his first appearance on 7 January 2017 as a 61st-minute substitute for Nico Yennaris during a 5–1 FA Cup third round victory over Eastleigh. He scored the first goal since his return with a late consolation in a 2–1 defeat by Wigan Athletic two weeks later. A run of five goals in five games in February, which included his first hat-trick for the club, won Jota a nomination for the Championship Player of the Month award. He finished the season as Brentford's third-leading scorer behind Lasse Vibe and the departed Scott Hogan, with 12 goals from 23 appearances, and the club triggered the one-year option on his contract.

Birmingham City

Jota joined Championship club Birmingham City on 31 August 2017 on a four-year contract. The fee was undisclosed, but was confirmed by the club to be a new record, in excess of the £6 million they paid for Nikola Žigić in 2010. He was one of six debutants in the starting eleven for Birmingham's next fixture, away to Norwich City; he played the whole match as his team lost 1–0. Jota was substituted after 79 minutes of his second appearance with what appeared to be a hamstring strain.

International career

Jota was called into the Galicia squad for a friendly match against Venezuela on 20 May 2016 and was substituted for Joselu at half time during the 1–1 draw.

Personal life

Jota was born in A Pobra do Caramiñal, Province of A Coruña, the son of José Ignacio Peleteiro and his wife Lupe. It was a middle-class family: his father worked for savings bank Caixa Galicia before managing a financial services agency and other businesses. Interviewed in 2017, Jota said he was coached by his father at his first youth club, Xuventud Aguiño. Jota married fashion model Jessica Bueno in June 2015, celebrating the wedding in Marbella after a civil ceremony in Pobra do Caramiñal. The couple's first child, a son, was born in February 2016; Jessica has a son from an earlier relationship.

Career statistics

Club

Eibar

Individual