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“I’m happy here. The club is massive” Man Utd’s £140,000-a-week Spanish Midfielder Quashes Speculation Regarding Future

Juan Mata
Juan Mata

One of the lasting impressions; and mind you, there aren’t many, of the David Moyes era is the signing of Juan Mata. The Spanish international midfielder was signed – or rather jetted into Old Trafford from Chelsea in the winter transfer window of 2014.

The Moyes era was littered with problems and bad singings but Mata grew from strength to strength to become a fan favourite. His creativity and humbleness to the cause of the club brought him close to fans like me.

It is a tribute to the skills of the midfielder that Mata was able to command a place under various managers. In Louis van Gaal’s era, Mata was one of the prime players while under Jose Mourinho too, the Spaniard has become a key member.

There were initial apprehensions as to how Mourinho will treat him. I was also part of that critics’ club who thought that the Portuguese may even contemplate selling Mata. However, nothing like that has happened and the 29-year-old has shown his true worth. His current contract expires at the end of this year although United have an option of extending it by a year.

Is there anything happening on the contract front? I would be worried if there is nothing but as Mata has indicated at various junctures, he is open to the idea of signing a longer deal and even finish his career at Old Trafford.

Talking to ESPN FC, Mata said:

“I’m 29 and hopefully I can play football for some more years.

“It would be great to play until I’m 40 like Ryan Giggs. But that’s still a bit far, still 11 years.

“I’m happy here. The club is massive, the support we have is massive.

“But my feeling now is that I’m happy here and I wouldn’t have any problem continuing here for more time.”

That should get the media to stop speculating on where his next destination would be. It is always a norm that players with less than a year left on their contracts get linked to various clubs and Mata, who earns £140,000-a-week, is not an exception.

What I would be interested in is to see how quickly the club can go on and tie this vital midfielder to the club. It is important to reward loyalty and Mata certainly falls into that category.

Do you think Mata can emulate Giggs and go on to play into the 40s?

Written by Sridhar Bhamidi

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