📸 Juan Mata, Spain footballer: Photo Gallery (Photo: 10)

📄 Summary

Juan Mata

Spain

28 April 1988

winger

7.1M @juanmatagarcia Juan Mata Instagram

Juan Mata is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League Men club Melbourne Victory. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also play as a winger.

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.

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📋 Profile & Career

: Mata with Melbourne Victory in 2025

⚽ Personal information:
Full name: Juan Manuel Mata García
Date of birth: (1988-04-28) 28 April 1988 (age 38)
Place of birth: Burgos, Spain
Height: 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Positions: Attacking midfielderwinger

⚽ Team information:
Current team: Melbourne Victory
Number: 64

⚽ Youth career:
2000–2003: Real Oviedo
2003–2006: Real Madrid

⚽ Senior career*:
Years: Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007: Real Madrid Castilla 39 (9)
2007–2011: Valencia 129 (33)
2011–2014: Chelsea 82 (18)
2014–2022: Manchester United 196 (34)
2022–2023: Galatasaray 16 (3)
2023–2024: Vissel Kobe 1 (0)
2024–2025: Western Sydney Wanderers 23 (1)
2025–: Melbourne Victory 25 (5)

⚽ International career:
2004: Spain U16 3 (2)
2004: Spain U17 2 (0)
2006–2007: Spain U19 13 (12)
2007: Spain U20 5 (3)
2007–2011: Spain U21 20 (5)
2012: Spain Olympic 4 (0)
2009–2016: Spain 41 (10)