Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Juan Mata wants to extend his storied playing career – but if it doesn’t happen in the A-League, his contribution to the Australian game may not necessarily be over, after the former Manchester United and Chelsea star confirmed his interest in investing in a club as a part-owner.
Mata’s one-season marquee contract with the Western Sydney Wanderers is set to expire after their finals campaign ended in disappointment with a 2-1 defeat at home to Melbourne Victory in last week’s elimination final.
Juan Mata wants to play on, but it may not be with the Wanderers.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Mata, 37, has been restricted to a bit-part role under coach Alen Stajcic and came off the bench late in the second half, spurning a golden chance to score not long after – although he wasn’t helped by the uneven pitch at CommBank Stadium, which caused the ball he received for his shot to bobble on its way to him.
Though he featured 23 times for the Wanderers, Mata started only seven times and logged just 599 minutes for the season.
“I don’t know,” he said about his future with the club, admitting he had been frustrated by his lack of game time.
“We’re having conversations, and I’m thinking about it now. I need to also think about my family and personal decisions, but let’s see. I love being here, I love the way that the Australian football fans have embraced me and my family, and all the respect that they show, so I enjoy very much that part of my stay here.”
Juan Mata’s season with the Wanderers ended in disappointment.Credit: Getty Images
Though his playing future is unresolved, Mata – who won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 – is thinking more broadly about his association with the A-League.
In November, he was announced as a minority owner in San Diego FC, a new Major League Soccer expansion club which entered the competition this year. The club’s ownership group is led by British-Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, who bought Right to Dream – a Ghana-based football academy which is associated with Mata’s charity Common Goal – in 2021. Right to Dream has since expanded into a multi-club network also including Danish club FC Nordsjælland, where Mata trained to build his fitness before joining the Wanderers, and Egyptian outfit FC Masar.
Sources with knowledge of Mata’s plans say he and his representatives have held informal discussions with several clubs – and the team behind a long-mooted Canberra expansion side – about bringing Mansour’s group into the A-League, but any deals are a long way off and would not happen until after Mata’s retirement.
Though the A-League and its clubs are experiencing financial difficulties, Mata suggested that might actually make it a good time to get involved – as Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom did recently when he acquired a 19.1 per cent stake in Melbourne Victory, smartly buying into arguably the competition’s biggest club at its lowest ebb.
Juan Mata and Douglas Costa were on opposite sides of the Sydney derby divide this season – but only the latter is contracted beyond 2024-25.Credit: Getty Images
“Why not? Maybe there is the opportunity to do that in Australia,” Mata said. “The league might be in a difficult financial situation right now, and many of the clubs, but I see that as an opportunity that will keep growing and will grow, because fans want to see football.
“They want to see better and better level in the A-Leagues and I think you have everything to do that. You have the infrastructure with the stadiums, you have the football fans willing to go, you have a great lifestyle, it’s an incredible country. There are many things that will improve, and you never know, maybe I’m part of that.
“When I see videos of the A-League 10 years ago, and you see the stadiums full of people, and you see so many players going to Europe or developing their careers in here, I think the A-League will go back to that. I think now are challenging times for the A-League and for most of the clubs, but I see that as an opportunity.
“At some point, football will keep growing here, big tournaments like we’ve seen with the FIFA Women’s World Cup a couple of years ago was a success and I think tournaments like that will keep coming to the country which will also help generate the momentum within the sport, I really believe so.”
“The league might be in a difficult financial situation right now, and many of the clubs, but I see that as an opportunity.”
Juan Mata
Mata and Common Goal on Tuesday announced a world-first partnership with the players’ union Professional Footballers Australia, which invites players to donate one per cent of their earnings – as he has done since 2017 – to a collective fund that supports footballing charities. In Australia, the PFA partnership will support a range of accredited football-based organisations, including Football Empowerment, Australian Blind Football, John Moriarty Football and Pride Cup.
Several current and former Australian players have already pledged to Common Goal, including Alex Brosque, Caitlin Foord, Aivi Luik, Winonah Heatley and Alex Chidiac.
Meanwhile, Sydney FC has spared coach Ufuk Talay the axe after their catastrophic failure to miss the A-League finals, signing him to a one-year extension which includes an option for a further year in the club’s favour.
Talay had verbally agreed to a two-year extension beyond this season, but it was not signed and was contingent on the Sky Blues making the top six and making the AFC Champions League 2 final, both of which they failed to do despite a star-studded squad that was considered pre-season title favourites.
However, after an expedited post-season review, the club’s board agreed to keep Talay on for another year, acknowledging the team’s struggles were also down to recruitment failures and the mid-season sale of Socceroo Hayden Matthews to Portsmouth, which further exposed their thin defensive stocks.
“We are working on next season already and believe with some strengthening and changes we will see the success everyone at this club wants to deliver,” Talay said.
The Sky Blues will announce later this week that it has released midfielder Max Burgess and young attacker Jaiden Kucharski, while it is working on re-signing Socceroos Anthony Caceres and Alex Grant. Top scorer Adrian Segecic is expected to depart for an opportunity in Europe.
