According to the latest reports, Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has officially agreed on a two-year contract extension with the Red Devils which will see him remain at Old Trafford until the end of the 2021. However, the Spanish star has taken a 25% hit on his wage rates as he went down from £180,000 a week to £135,000 a week.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a mammoth job on his hands in the summer transfer window as he looks to reinforce his squad to bring Manchester United back to the summit. The Red Devils finished in sixth place on the Premier League table last season and sacked Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho back in December after a poor run of form and results. The 56-year-old instilled a very defensive and negative philosophy into the club and the United faithful weren’t too happy with his style of football. The ‘Special One’ was then replaced by Solskjaer who was brought in to stabilize the ship at least until the end of the season.
The Norwegian exceeded expectations in his initial few games in charge as he guided United into the quarter-finals of the Champions League in dramatic fashion. The Premier League side came from behind against Paris Saint-Germain overturning a 2-0 deficit to win 3-1 at the Parc des Princes and advance through to the next round of the European competition. United also strung together some positive results in the Premier League which helped them close to a top-four berth.
These impressive performances earned Solskjaer a permanent job with a three-year contract on the table. However, after signing his new deal, the results did not go the way of United and they went through a massive blip. United was dumped out of the Champions League by Barcelona in the quarter finals and suffered a few humiliating defeats in the Premier League including a final day 2-0 defeat to already relegated Cardiff City. This indicated that there is plenty of work that needs to be done at Old Trafford and he Solskjaer needs the support from the Glazers.
However, Solskjaer has identified a few players that he wants to keep at the club and Juan Mata has signed a two-year contract extension which will tie him down to Old Trafford until 2021 with the option to extend his deal for another year.
The 31-year-old play-maker joined United from Chelsea back in 2014 and has scored 45 goals, notching up 37 assists as well in 219 appearances for the club. It was quite comfortable to say that Mata was struggling for United last season as he scored only three goals for the club but his experience is something that the 20-time league champions can use on and off the pitch.
After signing his contract extension, Mata said, “It is a real honor to continue to represent this amazing club and our incredible fans. I have been at Manchester United for five years and I am proud to call Old Trafford my home. I am looking forward to working with Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] and his fantastic coaching staff; the vision that they have for the club is truly exciting and I am so happy that I will be a part of that.”
