Manchester United’s Spanish midfielder Juan Mata has rejected a chance to earn mega bucks by moving to China, as he looks to extend his career at Old Trafford.
Mata is now 28 and his current contract expires at the end of this season – but United have the option to extend that through to 2019 and that is exactly what Mata wants, after rebuilding his reputation and relationship with Jose Mourinho and again becoming an integral part of the dominant United midfield corps.
It is Mata that Mourinho will likely turn to for Saturday’s showdown with arch-rivals Liverpool in the absence of Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini, with Ander Herrera also likely making the starting line up alongside Nemanja Matic.
Few will forget the spectacular over-head kick that Mata scored at Anfield back in 2015, and United fans will be hoping for a similar feat and result on Saturday as they look to maintain their excellent start in the Premier League, although this game represents their first fixture against a team expected to finish inside the top six come the end of the campaign.
It is understood that Mata’s representatives had been approached by intermediaries from the Chinese Super League, but were met with a resounding ‘No’ from the player, despite a significant potential improvement on his current £165,000 per week deal.
JUAN MATA – MANCHESTER UNITED CAREER TO DATE
Total Appearances : 155
Goals (All competitions) : 37
FA Cup Winner 2015/16
League Cup Winner 2016/17
Community Shield Winner 2016
Europa League Winner 2016/17
