While Manchester United haven’t been very busy in the transfer market this summer, they have spent time on convincing players to extend their deals at the club.
Andreas Pereira, Axel Tuanzebe and Marcus Rashford are among the academy graduates to pen longer deals at United, but Juan Mata is the only one of the Three Amigos to commit his future for a further season.
David de Gea’s contract expires next summer, with plenty of betting sites giving great odds on him leaving the club, while Ander Herrera left on a free transfer for PSG.
Having spent over two years in the Premier League before signing for United, when he was named player of the year for both seasons he was at Chelsea, Mata claims he feels at home in Manchester and that he wants to continue playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Mata has explained the reasons behind him extending his contract at United.
The first thing is the feeling of belonging to this club. I think it is something special and unique. We know that in football there are three or four big clubs in the world, or in Europe, and United is one of them.
Mata has won three trophies at United, including the FA Cup in 2016 when he scored in the final, but they haven’t mounted even one title challenge in the five and a half years he’s been here. While the memories of his goals against Liverpool and City represent better times, there haven’t been enough of them.
The Spaniard claimed that he was motivated by the tough times and that he wanted to stay to try and bring back better days to Old Trafford.
I have been here a bit more than five years and I have realised how amazing the supporters are and especially in the tough moments. I wanted to stay, I wanted to commit to the club, to keep enjoying wearing the shirt and keep trying my best.
Mata is currently in Australia with the rest of the squad on the pre-season tour, with the first game against Perth on Saturday, before facing Leeds next week.
