Vissel Kobe has announced Juan Mata, Spanish midfielder age,35 moving to join the team in the second leg of the J.League season 2023 on a permanent contract.
Mata grew up in Real Oviedo and Real Madrid’s academy before making his mark at Valencia, where he joined in 2007. He played for Valencia for four seasons, scoring 46 goals and providing 52 assists in 174 games. He also played a major role in winning the Spanish Copa del Rey in the 2007-08 season.
In the summer of 2011, he moved to Chelsea. In his first year of joining the club, he contributed greatly to the first UEFA Champions League victory in the club’s history, such as assisting a valuable equalizer in the final.
He played in 135 games in all competitions, scoring 33 goals and providing 57 assists. In addition to the Champions League, Chelsea also won the UEFA Europa League and the England FA Cup.
Then, in January 2014, he moved to Manchester United. After he joined, he became established in the starting line-up as the commander of the team. During his eight-and-a-half-year tenure, he scored 51 goals and provided 47 assists in 285 appearances in all competitions, helping to win titles such as the EL and FA Cup. In March 2009, he made his debut for the Spanish national team, scoring 11 goals and providing eight assists in 41 appearances. He has won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2012 Euro.
He left Manchester United in June 2022 following the expiry of his contract and joined Turkish side Galatasaray in September of the same year. In the 2022/23 season, he recorded 3 goals and 2 assists in 18 official matches, but he left the team after a year due to the expiration of his contract, and while he was free, he decided to join Vissel Kobe.
In addition, the uniform number is “64”, the same as the Galatasaray era.
Credit Photo : DepoPhotos
