Juan Mata's talent was not fully realized at Man United, but he provided the team with longevity, success, and a role model for their young players.
Mata reminisces on United's 2017 Europa League triumph.
Manchester United's decision to dedicate a longer eulogy to Paul Pogba than Juan Mata is emblematic of a club whose commercialism still dominates the game.
Mata's was 629 words long, while Pogba's was 840. The opulent farewell to an indolent talent clashed with the matchgoers' atmosphere, which was one of joy at Pogba's leaving. Three season-ticket holders in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand responded to the news with identical tweets.
Pogba is the first footballer to be honored with a Twitter emoji, and his popularity will be reflected in the sentiment graphs. Mata? He's a 34-year-old whose only Premier League appearances came in May last season.
Richard Arnold should have advised United on how disconnected social media is from reality. On the February 2020 investors' call, Arnold boasted that when Odion Ighalo signed for United, he was the #1 international trend on Twitter, as if buying a 31-year-old from Shanghai Shenhua had garnered universal approbation.
Pogba was last spotted at Old Trafford, cupping his ear to supporters who chanted "f—k off" over and over. Because he was injured, he declined the lap of honour following the final home game against Brentford, which was a rematch of the heated events from three years ago against Cardiff.
If United are to reconnect with supporters they have to have core tenets. During his eight-and-a-half years in red, Mata was completely invested in, and committed to, playing for United. Nobody could seriously say that about Pogba after he was offered to Manchester City in January 2018.
Mata had to convince Louis van Gaal in a top-heavy attack bolstered by Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao. The best football United played under the Dutchman coincided with Mata's recall in March 2015 and he forced extra-time in the victorious FA Cup final the next year.
The obvious deduction when Jose Mourinho replaced Van Gaal was it signalled the end for Mata after their short and brusque time together at Chelsea.
Instead, Mourinho put his faith in Mata, who was a remarkable player for United in 2016-17, starting the League Cup final just a day after attending his grandfather's burial in Asturias.
Ryan Giggs guaranteed supporters that Mata would be benched for his first encounter as caretaker manager. He did, but Mata came back to score twice in the second half. In Giggs' final outing in the club uniform, he curled in an excellent free-kick at Southampton.
In April 2014, Mata celebrates his goal against Norwich.
Despite the fact that Mata was underutilized by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, he showed his class on matchdays. After his last appearance at Old Trafford, he was still signing autographs in the pouring rain after the final whistle.
When Mourinho pushed Pogba, the Frenchman flinched, and United eventually caved in to player power, ushering in an era at odds with the club's spirit. Mata was not a player who could be accused of going on strike during Mourinho's final months in charge.
Mata matched United's utopian criteria: an X-factor player who was humble off the field but arrogant when he put on the shirt. He was a consummate professional who, although starting mentoring younger players in his 30s, was instrumental in Marcus Rashford's meteoric rise in men's football.
With Mata, United was able to maintain their success for a long time. He didn't play as often as they would have liked, but after Ferguson went upstairs, he started in all three of their triumphant cup finals.
In a professional sense, Mata was image-conscious. When this writer came for an interview at his restaurant on Deansgate in October 2019, it was disheartening to see a United press officer present for a different engagement planned by the club.
Mata during an interview in October 2019 at Tapeo and Wine
United had fallen 1-0 at Newcastle two days prior to Mata's interview at Tapeo and Wine in October 2019, their third defeat in their first eight Premier League games. Mata had begun writing and was now pushing his book, but he was hesitant to address the current problem.
Through his Monday morning blog articles, he'd established himself as the chirpy voice of the dressing room, rain or shine.Mata knew when silence was golden even before Gary Neville questioned United's players' robotic social media strategy in November. His most recent blog post was in October of this year.
Mata has amassed a sizable internet following (25.1 million followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) without jeopardizing his day job. He was a strong supporter of the Manchester United Foundation and respectfully used his profile as a United player to develop the Common Goal campaign.
He's as nice as everyone claims he is. When they met again a few years later, Mata surprised one journalist (who had already met him twice and interviewed him). He said, "I know who you are."
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