[Archive 2018-02-01] Football: Manchester United announces extending Juan Mata's contract

Historical archive — originally published 2018-02-01. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

On Tuesday, English football club Manchester United announced Spanish midfielder Juan Mata has a one-year contract extension with the club. The club triggered the one-year-contract extension clause in Mata's contract which would keep Mata tied with the club until 2019.

Speaking about the Spaniard, Manchester United's manager José Mourinho said Mata is "[a]n important player for me; an important player for the club; an important player for the other players." Juan Mata joined The Red Devils in 2014 on a four-and-half-year contract. Mata made the switch from London club Chelsea FC for then-club record transfer fee £37.1 million under David Moyes' management. Mourinho was Chelsea's manager that time.

As of Tuesday, the Spaniard played 172 matches and scored 39 goals for Manchester United, and featured this season in 26 games in all competitions. In his tenure at the Old Trafford, he has won the FA Cup, EFL League Cup as well as the UEFA Europa League trophy.

The 29-year-old midfielder's contract was previously set to expire at the end of the season. Manchester's veteran midfielder Michael Carrick is set to retire at the end of the season. Earlier in January, United signed Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez from another London club Arsenal FC, on the expense of Armenian midfielder Henrick Mkhitaryan in the swap deal. Mourinho, who has been in-charge of Manchester United for one and half years, said they "need to get a player to compensate the situation" of Carrick's retirement.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Football: Manchester United announces extending Juan Mata's contract by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.