When Juan Mata moved to Manchester United from Chelsea in January of 2014, the £37.1 transfer fee broke the club record for most expensive player. That amount seems borderline “cute” compared to the current holder of that status, Paul Pogba, who broke the world transfer fee record when he moved over to United from Juventus in 2016 for £89.1 million.
Here we are five years later and Mata is out of contract at the end of the season and his future with the club is very much in doubt, as other clubs have shown interest in acquiring him on a free transfer this summer. According to the midfielder’s father, United has offered the Spaniard a new deal.
“Manchester United have offered to renew us, we are very happy,” Mata’s dad told Cadena SER, “but there are proposals from Champions League teams.”
“Spain, maybe, but today is not the day to talk, it is not yet decided.”
No, today is definitely not the day to talk, as today is the day United takes on Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, and their opponent tonight is coincidentally one of the teams interested in acquiring Juan Mata, according to Sky Sports.
The 30-year-old Mata, who has scored 44 goals in 215 appearances with the club, isn’t the only Spanish midfielder who could be leaving United this summer on a free transfer. Given what Ander Herrera had to say yesterday about his club future, it looks very likely that he’ll be out the door as well.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.