Juan Mata calls on subpar Man Utd teammates to leave to enable 'cultural reset'
By Sean Walsh
Juan Mata has issued a rallying cry for below-standard Manchester United players to leave the club after such a disastrous season.
The Spaniard has spent the last eight-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford after joining for a then-club record fee of £37.1m in January 2014.
While now only a squad player, Mata has an undying affinity for Man Utd after making 284 appearances for the Red Devils. This year, he's played just 11 times in all competitions in another season that will end without silverware or Champions League qualification.
In an interview with The Athletic, Mata was passionate about the club's current plight and insisted that those who do not meet the standards of the team's enormous stature have to leave.
Listen now to 90min's Manchester United podcast, The Promised Land, with Scott Saunders &Rob Blanchette. On this week's show they discuss the latest news surrounding the club including a discussion regarding Ten Hag's arrival and his Ronaldo hint.
"It’s clear that on the pitch, we have made many mistakes," Mata said. "We could have also dealt better with certain situations that were happening in the club, managers changing, negative things. At the end of the day, we let that maybe affect too much the energy of Carrington.
"Certain standards were not met. Whether that’s attitude, level of training, off the pitch, which doesn’t include players, we haven’t been good enough. So that’s where we could learn. Also, certain things were out of our control, which we shouldn’t let affect us. You feel that way when you see certain things are not good enough. But we shouldn’t have let things happen.
"Many circumstances can affect certain behaviours. If you don’t have a solid base, when bad things come, it is difficult to stay all together.
"We need a reset in the culture of the club. That’s how I feel. The standards, what it means to represent this club to any player, what entitles you to play for Manchester United, what is expected on the pitch and off the pitch. Many things that need to be clear - this is Manchester United and anyone who doesn’t meet those standards is not up to the task and should not be here. That’s as clear as I can be."
Mata also revealed that he will discuss his future with incoming manager Erik ten Hag soon with his contract set to expire at the end of June, adding: "I will see when we speak how we feel. What his ideas are, after that a decision will be made."