Krishnan Sreekumar
Fabrizio Romano gives an update on Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata and his future plans
According to football transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata will not retire at the end of the season, despite his current deal with the club expiring in the summer.
The Spaniard joined the Red Devils from Chelsea in the January transfer window of 2014, making him one of the senior-most members of the squad. Not just this, he has also seen the club go through various managers during his time in Manchester, from David Moyes to Ralf Rangnick.
This season, the midfielder has seen his role with the team be limited due to the competition in the squad and his age. At 33, he is not the player he once was, although he has not had enough opportunities given this term to prove otherwise on the pitch.
The ex-Blues man could finally be set to end his time at Old Trafford in the summer, with his current deal with the club running out in June. Despite rumours of the player retiring at the end of the season, these have now been dismissed, with Romano claiming that retirement is not even an option for the Spanish veteran.
Full focus on United
Romano also confirmed that the attacking midfielder will not join the Man United coaching staff once his time with the club is over, with the player making a decision on his future in due course of time. At the moment, his full focus is on helping his team finish the campaign strongly.
Mata’s involvement on the pitch has been sporadic this term, with appearances in the league cup and Champions League at times. Having been knocked out of other competitions, the Premier League is his only chance of getting more minutes. With eight games to go until the end of the season, he will hope that he gets more chances to make his mark on the team.
With the arrival of Bruno Fernandes in 2020, Mata’s game time as an attacking midfielder was drastically reduced, with the Portugal international making a heavy and quick impact on the team since his debut.
Since then, he has hardly been given any rest or stayed injured, meaning that the opportunities that Mata would otherwise have been afforded vanished into thin air. It also means Man United are heavily reliant on Fernandes, which probably has had an effect on his performance levels dropping this term.
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Mata’s last appearance for the side was against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, with Rangnick sending the Spaniard on in the hopes of finding an equaliser to send the game to extra time. However, he could not help his team from crashing out of the competition.
If this indeed is the former Valencia man’s last season at the club, then he will depart with fond memories, having won the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Europa League. Man United fans will fondly remember him as well, for his equaliser in the 2015 FA Cup final and his double against Liverpool at Anfield – both games where his influence saw us winning the fixtures.
