[11][12] He was given the number 24 shirt by Chelsea but was not able to make his debut immediately due to the injury he picked up at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Matić made his Premier League debut for Chelsea on 21 November, coming on as a substitute for Florent Malouda in the 69th minute in a 4–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

[13] On 23 August 2010, Matić transferred to Eredivisie club Vitesse on a one-year loan, together with teammates Slobodan Rajković and Matej Delač.

[14] On 31 January 2011, Matić agreed to join Portuguese club Benfica in the summer of 2011, as part of a deal for Chelsea to sign Brazilian centre-back David Luiz.

[16] On 14 April 2012, Matić started for Benfica in the 2012 Taça da Liga Final against Gil Vicente, where he won his first trophy with the Lisbon-based club.

[18] In the second leg of Benfica's Europa League round of 32 tie against Bayer Leverkusen, Matić headed in a late goal after a cross from Lima to seal a 3–1 aggregate victory.

[19] Matić was an integral member throughout the 2012–13 Primeira Liga campaign as Benfica looked to claim the club's first league championship since 2010.

[21] On 15 May, Matić faced former employers Chelsea in the Europa League final in Amsterdam but was on the losing side as Benfica fell to a 2–1 defeat, courtesy of a last minute Branislav Ivanović header.

[31] On 3 February, Matić made his first Premier League start in Chelsea's fixture away at championship rivals Manchester City.

[44] Manchester United confirmed the deal the next day, with Matić signing a three-year contract with an option for an extra year,[45] for a fee reported to be in the region of £40 million.

[47] On 13 August 2017, Matić made his league debut in a 4–0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford, in which he was named Man of the Match.

[50] During the boxing day matches of the 2018–19 Premier League, Matić scored his first goal of the season and his second for Manchester United in a 3–1 win over Huddersfield Town.

[59] On 14 August 2023, Matić joined Ligue 1 club Rennes on a two-year deal for a reported transfer fee of €3 million.

[62] On 27 January 2024, Matić joined fellow Ligue 1 club Lyon on a two-and-a-half-year contract, for a transfer fee of €2.6 million.

[69][70] On 6 September 2013, Matić returned to his national team on a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Croatia, being sent off in the 75th minute.

[71][72] He scored his first international goal on 29 March 2015, in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match away to Portugal at the Estádio da Luz, equalising via an overhead kick, albeit in a 2–1 defeat.

[73] On 11 October, in a loss against the same opponents by the same score at the Partizan Stadium, Matić received a straight red card within a minute of teammate Aleksandar Kolarov's dismissal.

[80] A left-footed defensive midfielder, Matić's poise and power, in addition to his in-game intelligence and tactical awareness, have enabled his attacking teammates to flourish.

[83] Matić's younger brother, Uroš, is also a professional footballer, playing for Abha Club, a team in Saudi Arabia.

[89] After the match, Matić was castigated and got threats by a number of people via social networks for not respecting servicemen who have died in war.