This is an accepted version of this page Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers.

Despite Mata's stature at the club, he fell out of favour at Chelsea under newly appointed manager José Mourinho and was sold to Manchester United in January 2014, for a fee of £37.1 million.

Mata had a release clause at Real Madrid during his last season at the club, and eventually agreed to sign for fellow La Liga side Valencia CF in March 2007, with the contract starting on 30 June 2007.

[10] Benefitting from constant injuries to Vicente and the ostracism to which then-manager Ronald Koeman condemned Miguel Ángel Angulo, Mata gradually carved a niche in Valencia's first eleven.

In the following two seasons, Mata was an ever present offensive figure for Valencia, scoring 17 goals in 68 league games combined, with the club achieving back-to-back third-league places.

[27] Mata followed on from Chelsea players Joe Cole, Mark Hughes, Ian Hutchinson, and Terry Venables in adopting the number 10 shirt.

[28] Mata made his debut for Chelsea against Norwich City on 27 August 2011, where he came on as a 68th-minute substitute for Florent Malouda and scored the club's third goal in the 11th minute of stoppage time.

[30] On 14 September, Mata made his UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea and scored in stoppage time to help his side defeat Bayer Leverkusen 2–0.

[34] On 6 December 2011, during Chelsea's decisive Champions League match against former club Valencia CF, Mata created two assists for both of Didier Drogba goals.

In an FA Cup fourth round tie with Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, Mata scored his side's only goal from the penalty spot in a 0–1 victory.

On 7 April, Mata scored his 11th goal of the season against Wigan Athletic, giving the Blues a 2–1 victory over the Latics and kept alive Chelsea's fight for a Champions League spot.

[45] In the 2012 UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich on 19 May, Mata assisted Didier Drogba's headed equaliser from a corner kick in the 88th minute.

[52] He later provided two assists in Chelsea's 4–1 rout of Norwich City, sending Eden Hazard through on goal and later flicking a delightful ball for defender Branislav Ivanović to volley in.

[53] In a London Derby game against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 20 October, Mata scored twice and provided an assist for Daniel Sturridge in a 2–4 victory for Chelsea, where he also earned Man of the Match honours.

[61] On Boxing Day, Chelsea traveled to Carrow Road to face Norwich City, where both Manchester United and Arsenal had suffered defeats earlier in the season.

[62] Then, on 5 January, Mata provided assists for new acquisition Demba Ba and Branislav Ivanović to help Chelsea win 1–5 against Southampton in the third round of the 2012–13 FA Cup.

[69][70] On 15 May, Mata gave a fine performance in the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final against Portugal's Benfica, assisting Branislav Ivanović's injury time winner from a corner kick.

[73] On 28 September 2013, Mata came on as a half-time substitute against Tottenham Hotspur to assist John Terry to score an equaliser in a 1–1 draw,[74] but his appearances in the first team remained infrequent.

[100] September was a month to remember for Mata as he scored two goals and made two assists in just three games, as Manchester United claimed wins against Liverpool,[101] Southampton,[102] and Sunderland.

[106] Mata assisted an Anthony Martial goal against West Ham in the final game at the Boleyn Ground; however, United lost 3–2, ending their chances of beating Manchester City for fourth-place.

[115] On 7 November, Mata scored the equaliser from a free kick in another late comeback 2–1 win over Juventus in a Champions League group stage fixture.

[128] After having made twelve appearances throughout the whole 2021–22 campaign, the last of which was during the team's last league fixture against Crystal Palace (on 22 May 2022),[129] Mata left the club at the end of the season following his contract expiration.

[139] Mata made just one appearance for the club, coming on as a substitute for the final ten minutes of a 2–0 away loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima on 16 September; however, he still received a medal as Vissel Kobe were crowned J1 League champions that season.

[143] He was a key player for Spain as they won the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, finishing the tournament as second top scorer to his teammate Alberto Bueno, with four goals in five matches.

On 28 March 2009, he made his senior international debut, coming on as a substitute for Valencia teammate David Villa in the 63rd minute of a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkey.

[148] On 9 September 2009, Mata scored his first goal for the senior team in a 3–0 win against Estonia that guaranteed Spain's qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

[153] In June 2013, he was named in Spain's squad for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup where he played in four of the team's five matches, scoring in the 10–0 group stage win over Tahiti.

He makes up for a lack of pace with his control, technique, passing, creativity, and vision, which allows him to link-up with teammates and register many assists, in addition to scoring goals.

A diminutive player, standing at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), he lacks significant physical strength, heading ability, or aerial prowess, but is quick, agile, and nimble in his movements.

[159] In November 2012, along with fellow Premier League players Santi Cazorla and Michu, Mata bought shares in former club Real Oviedo, who were struggling to raise €2 million to stay afloat in the Spanish third division.