Juan Mata was a fairly consistent performer for Chelsea during his stay at Stanford Bridge but things took a huge turn in his last season when Jose Mourinho was barely even taking into consideration, the presence of the Spanish midfielder and the former coach of Real Madrid preferred using Oscar, Hazard and other players instead of the 25 years old midfielder.

The lack of playing time ultimately led to Mata being offloaded to Manchester United but the player has recently revealed that it was in fact Mourinho who advised him to make a move to the team of David Moyes.

Mata said: “We spoke and he Mourinho said that he thought this was a good option for me, and I told him I thought this was a good option for me’’.

“We didn’t speak for long. I wasn’t playing, and to be honest, I am happy when I play football. “It’s the thing I like to do the most. He wished me good luck and told me to be good, as did everyone at the club Chelsea. I’m very grateful for my time at Chelsea and for all the trophies I have won. We had a fantastic relationship; I had great relationships with several of my teammates’’.

The transfer of Juan Mata from Chelsea to Manchester United was a switch that surprised many fan, players and even coaches considering that the skilled midfielder was offloaded to a club that is a direct rival to Jose Mourinho. Despite not going through the best of seasons, Manchester United remains being one of the rivals of Chelsea and gives United the opportunity on improving their current campaign as well as the possibility of finishing on higher spots in the Premier League.