Juan Mata agrees new one-year contract with Man Utd

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has agreed a new one-year contract to stay at Old Trafford until next summer after his existing deal with the club expired at the end of June.

The new contract will take Mata into a ninth season as a United player, having joined from Chelsea in January 2014 for what was then a club record £37.1m transfer fee.

Mata has played 273 times for United but his role last season was significantly reduced as a result of the 2020 arrival of Bruno Fernandes and the continued rise of Mason Greenwood, although personal circumstance also played a role in limiting him to fewer than 20 total appearances.

When speaking about Mata’s future in May, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explained that the player would have the final say over whether he was to stay or go.

“He’s in charge of his own future and he’s been such a good servant for the club. But of course, it’s hard, as I’ve said so many times, to leave good players out, good people out of the team,” Solskjaer explained at the time.

With United willing to offer a new contract, Mata has chosen to stay, despite the likelihood that he will remain a back-up player in a squad that has now added Jadon Sancho to the mix.

Mata has been a firm fan favourite ever since he joined United. He scored 10 goals in all competitions three seasons in a row between 2014 and 2017, including a famous strike against Liverpool at Anfield, and has won the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League.

Even with a reduced playing role, his presence as an experienced head with a proven record at the highest level will be of major benefit to United’s largely young and developing squad.

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