HE’S JUAN DEGREE HOTTER
“I haven’t had just one idol, there have been many players I’ve admired. One was Maradona, another was Zinedine Zidane, and a third was Ronaldinho when he played at Barcelona. They were really special players.
“The best I’ve played against is Lionel Messi. I played against him when I was at Valencia and in the Champions League semi-finals at Chelsea.
“He can do everything. The way he connects his brain with his feet, it’s just quicker than anyone.”
Mata was twice Chelsea’s player of the JUAN MATA isn’t just a humanitarian – he’s a brainbox too.
The Manchester United star has been roundly applauded for helping initiate the Common Goal movement – in which footballers pledge one per cent of their salary to help charities for children in year during his days at Stamford Bridge before his £38million move to United in January 2014.
In his last full season for Chelsea the Spaniard scored 20 goals from midfield – this season he’s scored just once.
“There’s no better feeling in football than to score an important goal,” he said.
“As much as I also love an assist, for me there’s nothing like scoring.
Scoring goals has always been an important part of my game.
“In every season I want to be scoring 10 or more – for a midfielder that’s good. Hopefully this season I can do the same.”
To achieve that ambition Mata needs to be on the pitch.
But perhaps the most damning statistic of his campaign at United so far this season is the apparent lack of faith Mourinho has under-privileged countries. But, alongside his charitable work, Mata has been doing a university degree.
“It’s in sports coaching and marketing,” he said.
I don’t know if I am going to use it because I don’t really know what I’m going to do after I finish in his little wizard, capped 41 times by Spain.
For of the 15 games he’s started for United this season, he has completed only two – the 1-0 win against Bournemouth and the victory over CSKA Moscow in the final Champions League group game.
Concerned
That puts Mata’s long-term future at Old Trafford in doubt even though he’s survived 18 months under Mourinho, who when Chelsea boss sold him to United.
With January approaching, and Ozil lurking, maybe Henrikh Mkhitaryan isn’t the only United playmaker who is concerned about his future. playing.” But he is proud of Common Goal. “It’s a nice thing to be involved with,” he said. “I think at the moment we have more than 30 players signed up and it’s growing. Many players want to find out more.”