Guilherme Muller, the General Director of the Benfica Academy, has discussed Jota’s journey ahead of their clash with Celtic.

The Celtic fan favourite has recently returned from a devastating ACL tear which kept him out of action for more than 500 days. He has a close affinity for both clubs involved this evening.

A product of the academy at the Lisbon giants, he made 33 appearances for the senior side before a loan move to Glasgow transformed his career in the 2021-22 campaign.

He is now an established figure at Parkhead after making his 100th appearance over the weekend. He may not be registered in the Hoops’ squad for the match, but academy director Muller was keen to commend his injury recovery.

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Guilherme Muller on Jota: ‘We are very proud’

Muller told the Scottish Sun: “The most important thing is that we are very happy to see Jota back after his injury. Of course, we would love to see him return to our stadium and welcome him back home.

It is a shame that he will not be able to play this time, because I am sure it would be a very special moment for him and also for all those who have had the privilege of seeing him grow up here. It is always special to see one of our academy players doing well and building a successful career.

“We are very proud of Jota and the journey he has made. He arrived at Benfica at a very young age and grew up in our Academy, so in many ways we saw him grow both as a player and as a person.

“Benfica gave him a strong foundation, not only in terms of football, but also in terms of values, discipline and understanding what it takes to compete at the highest level.

“Of course, the credit for the career he has built is his, but for us it is always special to see a player who grew up with us continuing to develop, embrace new challenges and build his own successful path in football.”

Jota recently likened the Benfica academy to Disneyland – but Muller was keen to note the difference, continuing: “There is one important difference though: at Disneyland you are there just to have fun.

”At Adidas Benfica Campus, there is a lot of hard work behind the magic! Jota knows this very well. He spent many years with us, so he knows how much dedication, discipline and effort it takes every single day to turn the dream of becoming a professional footballer into reality.”