Sports
Juan Mata extends Manchester United contract by one-year
Manchester United midfielder, Juan Mata, has agreed to stay with the club for one more season.
The club’s official website revealed the 33-year-old signed a one-year extension after his previous contract expired at midnight on Wednesday.
Mata only played 18 times last season but spent a significant portion of it at home in Spain as his mother was seriously unwell. Marta Garcia sadly passed away in March.
Man United signed Mata from Chelsea for a then-club record £37.1mn in January 2014 and he started in the 2016 FA Cup final victory, as well as the 2017 League Cup and Europa League final triumphs. Mata has scored 51 goals in 273 United games.
He has since made 273 appearances as a Red, scoring 51 goals in the process.
According to Manchester United, “While his 2020/21 season was limited to 18 appearances, partly due to personal circumstances, Mata’s contribution remained and he was notably one of six Reds to win our Player of the Month awards, alongside Edinson Cavani, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw”.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has bolstered the United attack with the addition of Jadon Sancho and Edinson Cavani has agreed to stay for a second season.
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Daniel James, and Amad are among United’s younger forwards, with Mata, Bruno Fernandes, Donny van de Beek and Jesse Lingard the playmaker options.
Lingard is expected to hold talks on his future next week as he has entered the last year of his contract and enjoyed a fruitful four-month loan with West Ham.
The 28-year-old missed out on a place in England’s European Championship squad and only started once for United last season. Lingard did not play a single minute in the Premier League for United in 2020-21.
