Wouldn't surprise me if the club shits the bed and offer him another contract with an increase as 'hes an important man to have in the dressing room'
New deal for Mata
- Thread starter Livewire1974
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Well we more than likely gave him a reduction in salary in the summer so not sure why we'd increase it but anything for the agenda I guess.
Retire and become club ambassador and run restaurant and all.
Yup, but as usual on the Caf, those who complained about it at the time were shouted down.
Yep and we said the same thing with Jones..
And Smalling and Bailly and now with Lingard
There there, don't cry.
Why is he still here?
Sorry. What I meant to ask was when are we giving him his next bumper deal?
Sorry. What I meant to ask was when are we giving him his next bumper deal?
New deal in 2019 was a mistake. New deal in 2021 made no sense at all.
Juan Mata is still here 
Fecking bell we are a shambles.
Fecking bell we are a shambles.
Fully expected this bump to be about an extension.
This summer.
Honestly, it sounds like a fair portion of the fans are in favor of keep renewing him as long as he wants. Whenever I bring up Mata's contract in United Reddit sub, I get crucified and get told Mata deserves his contract because the club wants to keep him as an ambassador after his retirement.
Jobs for the boys FC
You can see it earlier in this thread too. People come up with the lamest excuses and reasons to reward mediocrity:
“Very good. If there is one player you want to keep around even if his on the pitch contribution is not what it used to be, it's him.”
“good news, he has a lot to give in terms of passing on to the youngsters.”
Keep around for what? We’ve been a laughing stock for the entire duration of his 8 years at the club. Apart from maybe 1-2 decent years he has contributed absolutely nothing.
What exactly is it that he’s passing on to the youngsters? What youngsters are those anyway? Whatever he’s “passing on” to whichever “youngsters” it’s clearly not working.
In fact the only thing he’s doing at the club is being a hindrance to youngsters. That bench spot he occupies every week should be a youngster. The game time he got last night should’ve been a youngster.
Mata being at the club is a far less issue than some of the other dross at this club like mctominay and fred who's only redeeming quality is their engines as it has been a trend for far too long at this club of shunning the technicallygifted players at the club in favour of kick and rush players.
when mata came in last night he brought composure, tight control and the ability to play passes within tight spaces around the box, it was better to see than Fernandes trying another failed attempt of a unnecessary hollywood pass or shoot on goal, or ronaldo greedily only interested in his only glory with wasteful hit and hope shots from silly angles or whilst not in control of his balance
when mata came in last night he brought composure, tight control and the ability to play passes within tight spaces around the box, it was better to see than Fernandes trying another failed attempt of a unnecessary hollywood pass or shoot on goal, or ronaldo greedily only interested in his only glory with wasteful hit and hope shots from silly angles or whilst not in control of his balance
Had no issue with the club keeping him if they intended to use him as a limited squad player, because god knows we need positive influences in the dressing room.
But in the context of a squad as bloated as ours it made no sense. The point of keeping him would have been to allow you to generate funds by selling other more valuable squad players like Lingard without reducing your playing numbers too much. If you don't do that, why is he here?
But in the context of a squad as bloated as ours it made no sense. The point of keeping him would have been to allow you to generate funds by selling other more valuable squad players like Lingard without reducing your playing numbers too much. If you don't do that, why is he here?
why are you bumping irrelevant old threads?
All he’s ever really done is Juanfield
I don't mind Mata staying at the club if he's transitioning to coaching soon. If he still wants to play for the next few years, we should probably release him.
People who think this was a good decision are mad. When someone is being paid just to be around then that probably has a negative effect on the rest of the squad rather than a good one
Mata was an amazing player in his day but now he shouldn’t be anywhere near our club. Forget that he’s a nice guy to have around. Our primary concern should be winning, there are plenty of nice players we could sign who aren’t old and can still play good.
In fact, who cares if our players are nice? Suarez, Costa, Keane etc just care about winning, why do we need to extend contracts based on personalities. This is something a brand would do, not an actual football team who wants to be successful.
Mata was an amazing player in his day but now he shouldn’t be anywhere near our club. Forget that he’s a nice guy to have around. Our primary concern should be winning, there are plenty of nice players we could sign who aren’t old and can still play good.
In fact, who cares if our players are nice? Suarez, Costa, Keane etc just care about winning, why do we need to extend contracts based on personalities. This is something a brand would do, not an actual football team who wants to be successful.
I forgot he was still our player
Pretty much this.
If they dish another year out again, after he's only played a tiny handful of games we really do have new levels of madness to skip into.
I mean, this doesn’t really make sense. Loads of top clubs keep players because they’re good to have around even if they offer nothing, Scott Carson being the biggest example. Fact is, a squad needs a mix of personalities, and a Mata clearly offers a lot to younger players
I have to debate that. I agree the squad needs mixed personalities but it doesn’t need passengers. The coaches are there to provide guidance, motivation and advice, that is not the job of the players.
When you can only have a 25 man squad it’s important everyone has their role and can contribute. As I said, you can get someone with an equally nice personality as Mata who will provide good vibes to the squad but can still actually play football. We aren’t supposed to be a retirement home or charity.
I have no idea where people get ideas like "Mata clearly offers a lot to younger players". Being a Nice Guy doesn't mean he "clearly offers a lot to younger players".
Made a career here just by being nice
He should have been out the door when Schweinsteiger left.
He should have been out the door when Schweinsteiger left.
People said the same last summer and the one before, he needs to be shipped out.
Think about it. Fergie let go of Keane who was one of our best players ever. A born leader and a warrior who ran through walls for him and won it all. Once he couldn’t back up his mouth with performances on the pitch anymore he was gone. No sentiment. Mata has failed here. He just shows up smiling cashing his big money and contributing nothing whatsoever. He’s a stabilising prescense in our worst dressing room in living memory. Yay. It’s just chronic waste whatever way you want to look at it. A waste of money and a waste of a space in the squad that could go to an improving and hungry player. We used to be a club that succeeded by keeping the talent moving and through astute talent spotting. If you failed or were always injured you’d be sold on the cheap and we would try something else until something worked. We just add more problems to the existing problems it seems.
Here's a mind blowing idea. If we need a coach then why not hire someone who actually has experience in the job?
Is this some sort of Spanish version of Seinfeld?
The worrying thing is, every time I think of Mata at Man Utd, all I think of is Blogger. Bad indictment considering he’s a footballer.
We’ve got bigger problems than Mata
I'm not saying put him as first team coach. No way. I meant giving him a chance at U15 or U18 level like the rest of them.
I just think he'll make a good coach.
I love Mata but the contract extension we gave him was a joke, it didn't make sense at the time and still doesn't. That said if we've got him on our books we should use him, he had a few nice touches the other day.
Exactly. Other players might actually resent Mata that he is earning so much money and doesn’t need to play. I’m sure there are plenty in the squad being paid less than him.
It’s not good for anyones mentality to have someone in the team who can’t contribute. As you say, it is taking the place of a hungry player who could push someone for a spot.
What's this "Mata offers a lot to younger players". What does he do, dress up in a clowns outfit and make shapes from balloons, to keep them amused.
We have plenty of players here that can offer young players as much or more than Mata can offer. They only have to look at Ronaldo or Bruno and take notice. But I suppose for 130K a week We would all want to stay around.
We have plenty of players here that can offer young players as much or more than Mata can offer. They only have to look at Ronaldo or Bruno and take notice. But I suppose for 130K a week We would all want to stay around.
I’m sure Mata would prefer to be on the field, he’s not just hanging around for the sake of it.
We shouldn’t have renewed his contract but that can be said for a lot of other players in our squad.
We shouldn’t have renewed his contract but that can be said for a lot of other players in our squad.