Juan Mata

Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also play as a winger. Currently a free agent, he most recently played for J1 League club Vissel Kobe.

A graduate of Real Madrid's youth academy, Mata played for Real Madrid Castilla in 2006–07, before joining Valencia in the summer of 2007. He became an integral part of the club's midfield, making 174 appearances over the course of four seasons and winning the Copa del Rey. In 2011, Mata signed for English club Chelsea for a fee believed to be in the region of €28 million and established himself as the team's focal player. In his first two seasons, he won the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Europa League.

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. He made 285 appearances over nine seasons at United, winning the Europa League and FA Cup again as well as the EFL Cup and FA Community Shield. He joined Galatasaray after his contract with United expired in the summer of 2022, where he won the first league title of his career.

Mata debuted for Spain in 2009 and played at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, his first senior tournament. In September 2009, Mata scored his first goal for the senior team, against Estonia, securing the nation a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and was part of Spain's World Cup-winning squad. In 2011, he resumed playing in the under-21 side, helping Spain win the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Denmark. He won the Golden Player award and was part of the Team of the Tournament. Mata returned to the senior squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and, after coming on as a substitute, scored Spain's fourth goal in the final as Spain defeated Italy 4–0 to retain their title as champions of Europe.