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.

Arsene Wenger described the deal as ‘surprising’, Chelsea fans argued over the sense of it, while a string of pundits expressed their confusion. Now, with Mata leading United’s revival under Louis van Gaal, the mystery is no nearer to being solved and there is every chance the Spaniard — who has already scored against Liverpool and Man City — could come back to haunt his former club.

So what went wrong in west London for a player who was a hero on the pitch and one of the most affable and friendly characters off it — certainly not the type to cause training ground tension?

The truth probably lies with Mourinho’s own pre-defined opinion of Mata as a player unwilling or unable to play the aggressive pressing game he prefers.

When sanctioning the sale of the Spaniard, he described it as ‘the new economic reality for Chelsea’, adding: “I’m not the sort of manager that says ‘no, not to Man United — sell Mata to Juventus or Barcelona, but not Man United’. If United pay an important amount of money, he has to go.”

But there was always a suspicion that the Special One had made his mind up many months before; the player’s case was not strengthened by his (sanctioned) late arrival at the Chelsea pre-season training camp following the Confederations Cup, which left him playing catch-up with a new manager who was never convinced he fitted the bill.

“Juan has to learn to play the way I want to play, to be more consistent,” said Mourinho soon after. “Has to be more participative when the team loses the ball, and I think it is not his fault. It is just a consequence of the way he played in the last few years.”

Given that Mata’s sale helped fund the arrival of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, the two players who have done most to transform Chelsea into title contenders, it would be hard to criticise Mourinho’s decision-making. But there remains a nagging feeling that a club of Chelsea’s size shouldn’t be selling to United. It’s a view being revived now they have to face him in form and at the heart of a revitalised title rival.

“It was tough for me at Chelsea in the last six months when I wasn’t playing,” admits Mata. “I had two fantastic seasons there, winning titles and being voted the player of the year by both my teammates and the fans. But when Jose Mourinho came, I started to have limited time to play. I’m looking forward to going back. It’s going to be a very special game for me. But obviously, our intention is to get the three points.”

Mata’s return to form has come since he was handed a new role by van Gaal (the United manager describes it as a ‘false right winger role’) and has been pivotal in the club’s revival after a difficult early campaign.

“It has been a season of ups and downs for everyone but the important thing is that we are where we were aiming to be, which is to be in the Champions League next season,” said Mata. “I think in the last few games we reached the level at which we should play, playing good football and controlling games. We now want to achieve our objective of finishing second.”

Recent form suggests the Spaniard could be crucial in achieving that aim. He now has eight goals this season, a pass completion rate of more than 90% and impressive statistics that show he is running just as far, if not further, than most other United players. In other words he has learned the pressing game his previous manager felt beyond him.

That doesn’t really solve the riddle of his Chelsea departure of course — if anything it adds to the confusion; but don’t bet against United’s mystery man adding another twist to the title race today.