Transfer Centre

Juan Mata 'offered lucrative Manchester United exit path'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 10 October 2020

Juan Mata 'offered lucrative Man Utd exit path'

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is reportedly offered a lucrative deal from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has reportedly been offered a mammoth £11.5m-per-year deal to join an unnamed Saudi Arabian club.

The former Chelsea man currently finds himself behind Bruno Fernandes in the pecking order at Old Trafford, while the arrival of Donny van de Beek has also limited Mata's opportunities for starts under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Mata is yet to make a Premier League appearance for the Red Devils this season and is in the final year of his contract with United, and the 32-year-old could supposedly be allowed to depart early following a lucrative offer from the Middle East.

Speaking on the Transfer Window Podcast, transfer expert Ian McGarry said: "We will start at Old Trafford with a shock move for fan favourite Juan Mata, who has been offered a very, very lucrative deal to move from Manchester to Saudi Arabia.

"It's our understanding that the offer that Mata has is worth around $15million net per year to go and play in the Saudi Arabian league.

"It's not at this moment in time that Manchester United have entered negotiations, we can't disclose the name of the club at this moment in time.

"But we are certain that the offer is there, his father, who is his agent, is confident that Manchester United would release Mata on freedom of contract after he had his contract extended by the optional year in his current deal over the summer.

"Mata himself is yet to commit; however, at those kind of numbers you would have to think he would be tempted.

"It certainly is the case that Saudi Arabia is desperate to promote itself as a footballing nation as we know, as well as being a place where players can earn an extremely high amount of money and it would be tax free."

Mata has amassed 50 goals from 257 appearances for United since arriving from Chelsea in 2014.