Juan Mata made 285 appearances for Manchester United after joining the club from Chelsea in January 2014. He spent over eight years at United, departing in June 2022 before joining Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Mata is undeniably a prominent figure in world football having been a member of the Spain squad that won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 - widely recognised as one of the greatest teams ever.
The Spaniard never set the world alight at United in terms of goal productivity, although he did produce some very decent returns like in the 2015/16 Premier League campaign when he grabbed six goals and five assists. But as football fans know, there is a lot more to the game than just goals and assists.
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Mata was an attacking midfielder who acted as a catalyst for United. He got the team on the front foot at times in some of their more turbulent years.
Mata is the sort of player who finds pockets of space on the pitch that many others don’t see. The former Spain international was an influential figure at Old Trafford and regularly made appearances before becoming more of a squad player in his last two seasons at United.
Since his arrival in Turkey, Mata has only made four league appearances for Galatasaray and one appearance in the Turkish Cup. However, his impact has been felt as he has scored one goal and assisted another in this short period of time. Partly thanks to the former United player’s contributions, Galatasaray sit second in the Turkish Super Lig, two points behind rivals Fenerbahce.
The top two have not faced each other yet this season, and it will be interesting to see what sort of impact Mata can have on one of the fieriest derbies in the world.
Notable teammates of Mata’s in Turkey include Napoli legend Dries Mertens and former Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira.
In his latter years at Old Trafford, Mata was known to have become a key influence in the United dressing room. He is an experienced player who has achieved a lot at the top level of football, like winning the Champions League with Chelsea.
Perhaps, had he stayed at the club, Mata would have been able to help some of the younger players at United with how they respond to the Cristiano Ronaldo saga.
Galatasaray will be hoping United’s loss is their gain, and that Mata’s wisdom can help them win their first Turkish Super Lig title since 2019.
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