Today I’m writing to you all from London, where we are playing in the Carabao Cup against Chelsea. It is always a special game for me, no matter which competition it’s in.

As you can all imagine, the two wins last week have given us confidence and fresh energy. They were much needed and now our objective is to continue that form against a tough opponent with an ex-teammate like Frank Lampard in the opposite dugout. He’s a great guy and was a legend of a player. I am sure that it will be an exciting game, not only due to the team we’re up against, but also down to it being a knockout fixture. Hopefully we will return to Manchester having progressed to the next round.

In Spain, La Liga continues to be very special this season. My sincere congratulations go to Granada, because leading the table after 10 games following promotion shows that they are doing amazing things.

In women’s football, I would like to congratulate Heather O’Reilly on her extraordinary career. Her record is incredible, but her influence on the women’s game has been even more important. She’s a Common Goal teammate who has turned into a role model and I’m sure the future holds great things for her.

Yesterday was a dream. Thank you for all your love and support. A wonderful way to end my journey as a footballer. ❤️???? https://t.co/cljjwW5eJG

— Heather O’Reilly (@HeatherOReilly) 28 de octubre de 2019

I’ll leave it there for today. Thank you for your support. I hope to see you on Monday at the club’s official store at Old Trafford for the second signing session for my book ‘Suddenly a Footballer’.

Hugs,

Juan

La entrada It has been a good week aparece primero en Juan Mata.

Today I’m writing this post from the plane that will be taking us to Belgrade. We’re about to take off on our way to Serbia, where tomorrow we will continue our European campaign.

It’s an important game. On Sunday, as you all know, we drew with Liverpool and although a point will never be celebrated by Manchester United (especially when we were so close to beating a big rival of ours), it could be a result to help change the mood. This is what we have to show tomorrow, at a stadium that has a lot of history and in which I once played while I was in Real Madrid’s youth ranks at a friendly tournament. The atmosphere will without doubt be intense, but this is the type of occasion that you always want to play in. Hopefully it will be a good game and we will return to Manchester with a win.

Hugs, and I hope you all have a good week.

Juan

La entrada On the way to Serbia aparece primero en Juan Mata.

We are now returning to the daily routine with our teammates coming back bit by bit to prepare for Sunday’s game… the international fixtures at least offered up some good news (for me): Spain were able to confirm their place at the next European Championship after the point they picked up in Norway and another which they took last night in Sweden. The bad news from that game was that David wasn’t able to finish the match due to an injury problem after making some great saves. I hope that it won’t be anything major and he can be back with us soon.

The worst bit from the last few days was what occurred in Bulgaria to various players from England’s national team, players that I know well – some of them teammates. I will never stop repeating that racism has no place in football, nor in society. It is a shame to have to keep talking about this topic in this day and age. Hopefully in the not-so-distant future terrible occurrences like these won’t happen.

Returning to the present, on Sunday we have a great chance to change the dynamic and we are all very motivated to take the win. We are United, we are playing at home and we will give everything to be able to take the victory that our fans deserve in such a special game.

I hope you all have a good week.

Hugs,

Juan

La entrada Wanting to change the dynamic aparece primero en Juan Mata.

Today I am writing this before travelling to the Netherlands, where on Thursday we will pay AZ Alkmaar a visit in the Europa League. It’s a busy week, after Monday’s game against Arsenal and Sunday’s away match coming up versus Newcastle. Three games in the space of a week is going to demand a lot from the team.

On Monday at Old Trafford, although we competed well at first, we couldn’t take the three points. It is true that they also had their chances, but we went closest to scoring a second and getting the result and obviously we didn’t leave happy. It is important to step up against a direct rival, but we wanted to make it three wins in a row.

Tomorrow we pay AZ Alkmaar a visit and they will be a good opponent: they are third in a Dutch league which is always interesting. It is always special to play in a stadium that I haven’t had a chance to before, too. In the Netherlands we will fight for the win to leave us in a good situation in our group and it will be important to do the same later this week versus Newcastle in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, in Spain the league is still very open and it is surely the most competitive in recent years. I believe it is good for the competition, it makes it more interesting while also making a lot of fans excited about the performances of their teams.

I also want to congratulate United’s women’s team on their win against Liverpool. My teammates have a special season full of big challenges ahead and I am sure they are going to enjoy it.

Hugs, and hope you all have a good week,

Juan

P.S Thanks to everyone who game down to Waterstones book shop in Deansgate for the autograph signing session for ‘Suddenly a footballer’ and to everyone who has shown an interest in the book or bought it. It is a really special feeling to communicate with you all through my own book. Thank you!

La entrada A busy week aparece primero en Juan Mata.

Today it’s Wednesday and time for our cup match, so I don’t want to write too much.

The truth is that I am still feeling frustrated and disappointed from Sunday. It was a really painful defeat. Let’s hope that the outcome of today’s game will be entirely different, but honestly it is a horrible feeling.

I want to take the opportunity with this post to publicly thank Jürgen Klopp for joining Common Goal and the way in which he did it, in front of the whole footballing world. Obviously we are big rivals out on the pitch, but this movement doesn’t look at rivalries as off the pitch we are united by the same objective. I also want to congratulate Megan Rapinoe, another teammate from the movement, who was named the best female player at The Best awards. Wow! Congratulations to you all.

‘Football can transform the world’: Jürgen Klopp on joining Common Goal. By @m_christenson https://t.co/nB0SiMFPcS

— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) 24 de septiembre de 2019

Thank you for the positive messages about my book ‘Suddenly a footballer’, which goes on sale tomorrow and in which I have modestly put together all of my experiences and reflections during these years in which I’ve kicked a ball around. I hope that you enjoy it, and that you can identify with it in one way or another.

See you next Friday at @WaterstonesMCR ?? #SuddenlyAFootballer @reach_sport pic.twitter.com/Gl4Wz4LolQ

— Juan Mata García (@juanmata8) 20 de septiembre de 2019

Hugs,

Juan

La entrada Match day aparece primero en Juan Mata.

On Thursday we play our first midweek game. A busy run of matches, away trips and flights… that’s what the next three weeks are going to be like. Therefore, we have to be prepared both physically and mentally.

Fortunately, we arrive at this point after a very hard-fought victory against Leicester which has given us optimism and confidence to kick off the Europa League campaign tomorrow. Everyone at the club believes that Manchester United should be playing in the Champions League every season, but we have to accept where we are, respect the competition and our opponents and ask the most from ourselves. I have been lucky enough to get the chance to lift this trophy alongside my teammates in Stockholm and I remember how sweet it tasted after winning such a title.

So, let’s go for it. We are going into the game against Astana with ambition. The Kazakh champions came from Champions League qualification stages and had to get through three rounds to get to this point for the Europa League group stage. We are expecting to play against an opponent who wants to make history at Old Trafford, but for us it is very important to kick off with a win. On top of that, only three days later we are paying West Ham a visit, who are four games without defeat, and we want to be able to make it three wins back-to-back.

?? @D_DeGea @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/QzQZiFBG93

— Juan Mata García (@juanmata8) 16 de septiembre de 2019

Monday was an emotional day. First, there was the amazing news that David had extended his contract with the club and wants to stay to get Manchester United and the fans back to where they belong. I’ll have to keep holding onto him for a few more years yet 😉

That afternoon, I watched the celebrations of the Spanish basketball team in Madrid and I felt very nostalgic. It had been nine years since I had been able to experience the same thing as a world champion with my own teammates and I can assure you all that it was one of the most special moments of my life. It’s only when you meet people in the streets and return home that you realise how far-reaching the impact is that sporting successes can have in life and on how people feel. I believe that title changed the perspective of Spanish football forever. Although our basketball team have already allowed us to grow accustomed to winning titles, we all know how difficult it is to get to this level and then maintain it. They are a TEAM, in capital letters, away from their individual names, and I think this is their greatest success. Congratulations.

I’ll leave it there for today. As ever, thanks for all of your comments, I’ll always be reading them.

Hugs,

Juan

P.S: In recent days I’ve also seen the footage from my country. Heavy rain and floods have damaged a lot of harm to both people and their property on the south-east peninsula. My best wishes to all of those affected.

La entrada A lot of games… but optimistic aparece primero en Juan Mata.

To make the most of the international break last Saturday I was in Asturias, my home region. It’s always good to go home. I was able to see my family and friends and I also had the chance to receive an award on behalf of Common Goal. It was a truly wonderful day and receiving the prize that carries the name of Enrique Castro ‘Quini’ is always special and makes sure that the legacy of ‘Brujo’ lives on. A legend, regardless of what team you support, and we keep on learning from him.

? @JuanMata8: “Es un placer enorme recibir este premio. Quini es una leyenda por encima de colores. Para mí es un privilegio rendirle tributo. Gracias a la @rfef y a la @asturfutbol por reconocer la labor de @CommonGoalOrg“#SomosFútbol#SomosFederación pic.twitter.com/Gi2VXA2p13

— RFEF (@rfef) 7 de septiembre de 2019

Now it is time to get back in Manchester and focus once again on the Premier League. We are all looking forward to training together on Thursday to prepare for Saturday’s game against Leicester. Over the last few days we have seen how the English national team, with various of my teammates involved, have continued to move positively towards qualification, as have Spain. Another player who continues to show his spectacular form is Daniel James, who scored in a friendly against Belarus after picking up a few goals at the start of the campaign. Hopefully on Saturday he will continue that run.

Moving away from football and instead talking tennis, last weekend we saw another historic moment courtesy of Rafa Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. It was a final that will be remembered for a long time, and once again showed the physical and mental strength that Rafa Nadal has which I’ve always admired. On and off the court he is a role model and has continued to play at an extraordinarily high level for many years. The most difficult thing isn’t to arrive at the top, but to keep yourself there and he is the perfect example of that. He has overcome difficulties on the way in the form of injuries, but here’s still there, adding to his legacy. Without doubt he is a sportsman that teaches lessons with or without a racket.

I’ll leave it there for today. Thank you as always for your support, and I hope you all have a good week.

Hugs,

Juan

Any trouble sleeping? I’ve got the solution for you. Happy to announce I’ll be releasing my book later in the month. I hope you’ll enjoy it and not only for the sake of sleeping better ?✍️? #SuddenlyAFootballer pic.twitter.com/Wa9ene8KVO

— Juan Mata García (@juanmata8) 9 de septiembre de 2019

P.S : Thank you for your comments on the book that I am going to have published at the end of the month. I hope that you like it and you don’t only use it to help you fall asleep! I’ll tell you a bit more about it each week…

La entrada Sport teaches lessons aparece primero en Juan Mata.

As I told you last week, I decided to move this blog to Wednesdays to get away from talking immediately after the results. In fact, I believe that in football today there is a belief (that I don’t share) which goes something like this: if you lose, it seems as though you’ve done everything badly; if you win, it covers up all of the mistakes that you have made. In my opinion, you have to look at things by taking a step back from the games themselves, above all in order to improve. I believe that at the start of this season we are lacking killer instinct to secure more wins, which is something we obviously need to improve and it’s what we will be working on.

I don’t want to let the chance go by to talk about the fact that this Saturday will be a historic day in Manchester. It will be the first time that the women’s teams for City and United will meet in league competition. The match will have Common Goal members on both sides: Casey Stoney, Jane Ross and Siobhan Chamberlain in red; Janine Beckie and Pauline Bremer in blue… without doubt the women’s game is showing us that we can be rivals playing at the highest level of the game on the pitch, but also united for the same Common Goal off it.

I hope you all have a good week.

Hugs,

Juan

PS: I would like to send my best wishes to Giorgio Chiellini, who picked up a serious injury and will be spending a long time away from the pitch… stay strong, Giorgio!

La entrada A historic derby in Manchester aparece primero en Juan Mata.

Today I want to start by explaining that after seven years of writing my blog posts on Sundays and publishing them on Mondays, I have decided to post them on Wednesdays each week from now on. I feel as though posts on a Monday were too focused on the last game, for better or worse, and I believe that it is always good to take a step back to look at things with further clarity.

Obviously, today I would have liked to have been writing after a win as I have done many times, but that’s not the case and it is something that has to be accepted. Defeats are a part of football, although we feel like this one arrived too soon. Fortunately, we have the rest of the season to fix our mistakes and improve.

Exclusive Juan Mata interview: ‘Playing for Manchester United is a privilege – I want to bring this club back to where it belongs’ https://t.co/oWhS8fBAcY via @telefootball

— Jason Burt (@JBurtTelegraph) 23 de agosto de 2019

On the other hand, I would like to mention that last week I had an interview with Jason Burt from the Daily Telegraph. We talked about a lot of different things. Among them, we discussed last season and the weeks leading up to my contract extension. I told him that given the situation it perhaps would have been easier to leave, to accept that I did not arrive at Manchester United at the best point in their history and not renew. However, I believed, and still believe, that it was worthwhile to stay, to work so that this club returns to fighting for big trophies. I want to be here, working so that Manchester United can get back to what it used to be. This is my mentality and the idea I have in mind. I feel that this was also the mentality of the people who made this great club what it is, and that is why it is so unique and special.

There’s nothing else to mention today, thank you for always being here!

Hugs,

Juan

P.S: I want to publicly congratulate Eric Cantona, who will receive the UEFA President’s Award next week for his commitment to Common Goal, amongst other things. As a mentor for the movement, it is an honour to be on the same team and to share ideas about how much football can help to improve people’s lives. Congratulations, King Eric!

La entrada Different day, same mentality aparece primero en Juan Mata.

How weird it is to have a weekend without football… Well, there’s been a lot of it, but playing on a Monday definitely means that you experience your weekend in a different way.

We have trained every day and now find ourselves in our team hotel in Wolverhampton, after spending around an hour and a half travelling down from Manchester by coach… As you can imagine, I’ve had plenty of time to watch quite a lot of games after training sessions. In fact, on Saturday, David [De Gea] and I had a footballing marathon of five games: Arsenal vs Burnley, Manchester City vs Tottenham, Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid, Racing Santander vs Málaga (I wanted to watch my friend David Lombán) and Elche vs Fuenlabrada (David wanted to watch Elche, the team he has supported since he was little). We also watched a little bit of Real Zaragoza vs Tenerife, as we wanted to see the debut of our good friend Kagawa in Spain… hopefully he enjoys some good luck there.

From the LaLiga weekend, I would like to pick out Aritz Aduriz. To see a player at this level at the age of 38 (what a goal!) is incredible, it says a lot about the work he puts in daily and his love for the sport. We were teammates at Valencia and with the Spanish national team and Aritz deserves all the good things which have come his way, he’s a great person.

Truthfully, it feels better to watch other games after you’ve already played yours and won, so you can enjoy the rest of them knowing that you’ve done your job. Playing on Monday means that you have to wait. After winning our first league game, we want to extend our good start, although we know that visiting Wolves is always tough. Without needing to look back too far, last season we experienced it on more than one occasion. They are a very hard working team who always compete well against the ‘big teams’. Hopefully it will be a good game and we will be able to take home the three points.

Hugs, and I hope you all have a good week.

Juan

P.S: I wish my former teammate Ashley Cole the best after his decision to retire from football. One of the best left backs that I’ve played with. All the best, Ash!

La entrada A different weekend aparece primero en Juan Mata.