(Football news) For Manchester United, a lot of high calibre players such as Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata all left on a free transfer, with Erik ten Hag having to recruit as many as six players to fill in the gaps in the squad. From all the players that left, Mata holds a special place in the hearts of every United fan for his dedication towards the club and his humble attitude both on and off the pitch. While all the other players seem to have found themselves a new club, the  Spaniard was yet to find one but it has been reported that he is going to join Turkish giants Galatasaray.

The World Cup-winner was short of offers with rumours linking him to a move to the MLS but the midfielder wanted to play in Europe as he felt he had the ability to play in one of the major European leagues. Leeds United were interested in the playmaker but according to Romano, “Juan Mata was never close to joining Leeds despite rumours weeks ago”. The Turkish club had struggled massively last season, finishing 13th in the Turkish Super Liga and that meant they club have gone all gung-ho this transfer window, buying the likes of Lucas Torreira, Dries Merten, Haris Seferovic, Milot Rashica and Yusuf Demir with the club also close to signing Mauro Icardi.

This is likely to be Mata’s last major European adventure and United fans will be wishing him the best. Even if he did not win the Premier League at United, he enjoyed a special relationship with the fans and won quite a few trophies along the way. He was never a flashy player but his technical ability and game awareness helped the likes of Chelsea and United win trophies. Juan Mata brings a lot of experience into the Galatasaray dressing as he has won all trophies possible to win with club and country. With Spain he went on to lift the World Cup and played a crucial part in the 2012 Euro triumph. 

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, “Galatasaray are closing in on Juan Mata deal as a free agent. One year contract verbally agreed, now just waiting to get it signed,” Romano’s tweet read. Galatasaray have confirmed the same via a statement, “Official negotiations have started with the football player regarding the transfer of professional football player Juan Manuel Mata Garcia to our club.”

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