Juan Mata may return to haunt Jose Mourinho and Chelsea

It remains one of the great mysteries: why Chelsea, with the financial backing of Roman Abramovich and with one of the greatest judges of players installed as manager, decided selling Juan Mata to Manchester United made both economic and football sense.

But it’s a conundrum that will focus everyone’s attention at Stamford Bridge this evening.

In three seasons at Chelsea, Mata made 135 appearances, scored 33 goals, made 58 assists, won the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League and was also named Chelsea Player of the Year twice in a row. So when he was allowed to leave mid-season to Manchester United for €45m in January 2014, it spawned a thousand conspiracy theories.