Juan Mata

2022 - 5 - 2

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Daily Mail"

Manchester United: Juan Mata shows class by signing autographs ... (Daily Mail)

The 34-year-old will leave Old Trafford at the end of the season when his contract expires following nine seasons with the Red Devils, racking up 283 ...

A loyal servant who was underused quite a bit in the last couple of years.' Was a superb intelligent player for us. Juan Mata shows his class by standing in the rain to sign autographs and take photos with fans long after his final home game for Manchester United before summer exit from Old Trafford

Juan Mata, Manchester United and what might have been (SportsJOE.ie)

Juan Mata has been at Manchester United for nearly all of their post-Ferguson years. It's hard to look at it without feeling he deserved better.

It will be hard not to think of the player he was, or how he has devoted the better years of his career to a team in a near constant state of flux. You wonder what might have been had he arrived in a more settled period for United, if the club had some semblance of a long-term vision instead of lurching from one crisis to the next. Even before Mourinho was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer there was a feeling that, for factors beyond the control of United, Mata had already passed a point of no return. As nice as it was to watch Mata roll back the years, it's difficult to assess his time as a United player without experiencing a few pangs of regret, a nagging sense of what might have been. A Champions League winner, a World Cup winner, Premier League-proven and approaching the peak years of his career. At times, he linked up brilliantly with Cristiano Ronaldo - to a point where you dared wonder how this wretched Manchester United season might have turned out had the pair combined more regularly.

Juan Mata And Nemanja Matic Wave Goodbye To Manchester ... (Sports Illustrated)

Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic played their final home game for Manchester United on Monday before waving goodbye to fans at Old Trafford.

Until the West Ham game we were still in the race in three competitions. Speaking to Sky Sports, Rangnick said: "In possession that was one of our best performances this year. He is set to divide his time between a consultancy role at the club and managing the Austrian national team.

Juan Mata shows Man United what they've wasted in beautiful Old ... (Football365.com)

Football365 - He came, he conquered, and was forgotten about. The 'Wizard's' last home game for Man United emphasised his misspent quality.

Having said that, this victory over Brentford, Mata’s only start of the season, which admittedly felt a bit like a testimonial, was as close to a Sir Alex Ferguson-like performance as any we’ve seen this term. Mata, and many signings since, haven’t been a good fit for that United, but maybe, just maybe, it’s the attempted style that’s been the greatest hinderance to the club’s progress, rather than the undoubtedly talented footballers that have failed to reach the heights they scaled at other clubs. Mata arrived at the club having won back-to-back player of the year awards with Chelsea, as one of the Premier League’s foremost creators.

Ralf explains Mata role (Manchester United)

Juan Mata will take centre stage in Manchester United's midfield against Brentford in our final home game of the season. It is Mata's first Premier League ...

He just deserved to be in the team,” Ralf told MUTV. “I decided to play him in the centre of midfield and Bruno a little more from the left so that is how we’re going to approach the game,” added the German. “He was very good in training and when he came on against Chelsea, for the last 15 minutes, he also showed a good performance.

Juan Mata gets the embarrassing but essential Man Utd farewell ... (Eurosport.co.uk)

It's turning into a legend's charity game,” said Gary Neville, as Juan Mata received a standing ovation when coming off after his final game at Old ...

It really is an unbelievable haul in what is one of the most relentless and draining campaigns going. He really is a genius with the ball, isn’t he? You need luck in moments and all these sorts of things, so you better treat it carefully and be ready, and we will be ready." "At this moment, a Champions League semi-final is the most important game you can play,” he said. It is all essential, though, and a clear-out that has been talked about for years appears to be taking shape. And so, come the full-time whistle the attention switched to this much talked about lap after what was their final Old Trafford game of the campaign.