Manchester United has started to depart players quickly in the summer transfer window under the new manager Erik Ten Hag. The Red Devils declare their 5th player, Juan Mata, the Spaniard veteran who has served United for around 8 years. He was brought for 37.8 million euros from Chelsea in 2014. Since then he has been one of the most decorated midfielders in the United squad.
Before joining United he was a part of the Spain World Cup-winning team in and the Chelsea UCL winning team in 2010 and 2012 respectively. The United fans were happy with this transfer and had a lot of hopes.
Mata’s Manchester United Career:
He has appeared in 285 matches with 51 goals and 47 assists in his name for Manchester United. His stay at United wasn’t as fruitful as it was in Chelsea. The managerial problem persisted since the post era of Sir Alex Ferguson and has failed to start in many of the matches from 2017. Even if he started adapting to the new systems had become difficult not playing in his natural positions.
Still, he has won a UEL cup, 2 domestic cups and a Community Shield in a United jersey. Though his departure was a bit more emotional and less dramatic unlike Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard. The fans have showered lots of love and affection during his stay. He was an integral part of our squad but the fans believe he wasn’t treated that nicely for all these years.
He was the very best as a centre attacking midfielder providing good crosses, 1/2 passes in the box and long balls. His worldie bicycle kick against Liverpool at Anfield is still loved by many. But later on, he was provided with the RAM position. He was a regular part of the squad in the B team later on in his career at United where usually started the FA Cup and EFL games.
Future of Juan Mata in Manchester United.
New manager Erik Ten Hag has stated in an interview that United squad needs a complete rebuild and sensible sweeping options. This is in order to bring this club to where it belonged a decade back. United were preparing to give Mata a new contract. However, he declined as he wanted to play on regular occasions and avoided being on the bench. He also received an offer from the MLS and planning in moving to the United States.
Since he was a long server of our club, the board is planning for a technical director’s role when he retires. He was also given an ambassadorial when he signed his last United contract in 2019. But at the same time, United thought of a role in which he deserves more.
His members from the World Cup winning team like Xabi Alonso and Xavi have undertaken managerial roles in Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona respectively. Xavi spend his entire life in Barcelona as a player before moving to the Qatari club Al Sadd in 2015. So after retirement, I won’t be surprised if he is given an off-field role for our club.
