Many Manchester United fans were concerned about the future of Juan Mata when Jose Mourinho succeeded Louis van Gaal as the club’s manager last May. The former Chelsea boss famously sold Mata to United when the Portuguese was in charge at Stamford Bridge three years ago, and it didn’t seem unreasonable to assume that history may repeat itself.
The Spaniard doesn’t appear to have read the script, however, and has scored 9 goals in 31 appearances so far this season, second only to Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the club’s top scorer list. Mata is on course to enjoy most prolific season at Old Trafford, and Mourinho took the time after his player’s strike against Watford on Saturday to explain why he retained his services:
“When I come here people thought that Mata was in trouble,” said Mourinho as per the Manchester Evening News. “I knew that he wouldn’t be in trouble because one thing is the football I wanted my Chelsea to play and another thing is the football I want my Manchester United to play and Mata is adapted to the football we want to play.
“So I knew it since the beginning he would be an important player and I think he feels that confidence in me and he feels that confidence in the game we want to try to play, so he’s happy and he’s happy on the pitch and you can see that the way he plays.”
