Juan Mata
Spanish association football player (born 1988) · Spain · Footballers
Juan Mata is read about 1,608 times a day, in 71 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A playmaker who collected trophies at Chelsea and Manchester United yet never quite became the face of either - too elegant for the grind, perhaps, or just unlucky with timing and managers who wanted something else.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Photos 12
Mata at Paterna in 2009
Mata playing for Valencia in 2010
Mata taking on Bayern Munich defender Jérôme Boateng in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final
Mata during the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup final
Mata in action for Chelsea in 2012
Mata on tour with Chelsea in 2013
Mata during a training session in Washington D.C., 2014On YouTube
199K subscribersTeams 15
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About this person
Born 28 April 1988, Juan Manuel Mata García came through Real Madrid's academy and cut his teeth at Valencia, where 174 appearances and a Copa del Rey win established him as a genuine orchestrator. Chelsea paid €28 million in 2011 and for two seasons he was their centerpiece, winning the Champions League, FA Cup, and Europa League before José Mourinho arrived and decided he didn't fit. Manchester United paid £37.1 million in January 2014 to rescue him, and over nine seasons he added another Europa League, another FA Cup, plus the EFL Cup and Community Shield - 285 appearances in total, always tidy, never quite central. For Spain he was a World Cup winner in 2010 and scored in the Euro 2012 final as a substitute, the fourth goal in a 4-0 rout of Italy. He left United for Galatasaray in 2022 and finally won a league title, then finished his career at Melbourne Victory.
In common with Juan
Megan RapinoeBoth received The Guardian Footballer of the Year
Marcus RashfordBoth received The Guardian Footballer of the Year
Jenni HermosoBoth received The Guardian Footballer of the Year
Bobby CharltonAlso played for Melbourne Victory FC
Jack RodwellAlso played for Western Sydney Wanderers FC
NaniAlso played for Melbourne Victory FCFame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.