This is Juan Mata’s 15th season as a top-flight footballer. His professional path has taken him from Real Madrid’s reserves to Valencia and then on to Chelsea and Manchester United. It has brought fame and wealth and status (plus Word Cup and Champions League winner’s medals). But that’s not all. “It has definitely improved me or developed me as a person, that’s for sure. I always say the same thing: ‘Football is a great sport, but it’s much more than that.’
“I left home when I was 15, I had to mature earlier than probably the average age, [learning] to be alone, to live without your parents or your family, so it has made me a better person, I want to believe. It has made me [have] many great experiences in my life – getting to know people, helping people, being helped by people.”
It has provided a platform too. Today’s elite footballers have a voice which is heard far and wide. “We reach so many people, so we need to be conscious of what we say and I think people are now starting to realise that,” says Mata, citing the example of his Manchester United team-mate, Marcus Rashford, and his campaigning for free school meals for children from poor families. “He was one of those kids that he’s now helping,” says Mata, “so it’s very important for him and his family, the projects that they’re doing. Helping millions of kids in the UK, it’s a great job.”
“He understood the position, the reach, the platform we have as football players and he’s using it, from my point of view, for the right reasons. So, it’s him, it’s Raheem Sterling trying to tackle racism; many other players are realising that we can do something for others through the sport that we love.”