Jose Mourinho’s appointment as Manchester United manager carries with it a series of complex narratives.
There’s the fact that Alex Ferguson appears to have revised his opinion on The Special One (who wasted no time in reigniting his ongoing feud with Arsene Wenger) and then there are the accusations still haunting Mourinho that he ignores youngsters coming through the ranks.
But perhaps the most interesting storyline is the mini soap opera around Juan Mata’s future.
Mourinho has only been at United for two pre-season friendlies, but he has already apparently pushed out Ryan Giggs and is blanking Ed Woodward.
And having been the man to sell Juan Mata to United in the first place, many have been speculation that the Portuguese’s ruthless streak will continue for the former Chelsea playmaker.
But worried United fans can take some hope from their new manager’s latest comments on the diminutive Spaniard. He explained why he allowed the former Chelsea player of the year to join a rival, citing Mata’s desire to leave the club as the defining factor.
“I sold because he asked for that. Nobody in my previous club wanted to sell or push him,” Mourinho told Mark Ogden in The Independent.
“He wanted to leave and my philosophy is I don’t want players that want to leave. I want players that want to come and want to stay. But I think since the first day everything is clear between us. There is space for him.
“He’s a talented player and I don’t promise places to anyone. I promise respect and I like him so if he wants to stay and I think he wants – until this moment I don’t have one little sign that he wanted to leave – so he wants to stay and yes there is space for him and yes I think he can be useful to the club.”
Of course, you might notice that this places the blame firmly at the feet of Mata, rather than Mourinho himself. Perhaps he’s just trying to frame the narrative before it happens.
Classic Jose.
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