Manchester United have announced they have triggered a 12-month option in Juan Mata’s contract to extend his stay at Old Trafford until the June 2019.
Mata’s original deal was due to expire in the summer and there were doubts whether Jose Mourinho’s side would prolong his stay at the club.
United triggered the same clause in Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw’s contract earlier this month and the delay in renewing Mata only fuelled suggestions this would be his last season at the club.
However, the Red Devils have opted to extend Mata’s stay by a further 12 months and Mourinho has hailed the Spaniard as a vitally important player at the club.
“Mata is very important,” Mourinho told the club’s official website. “When I arrived one-and-a-half years ago, [they said]: ‘Mata is in trouble, in trouble, in trouble’, and now he’s getting an extension of one more year. An important player for me; important player for the club; important player for the other players.”
United have a far superior win ratio in the Premier League under Mourinho when Mata has started (63.9%) compared to when he hasn’t (42.3%).
