The agent of Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has confirmed that the Spain international has had numerous approaches from Barcelona during his career.
Mata was heavily linked with a move to Catalonia before signing his latest contract extension at Old Trafford in June 2019, which extended his deal until 2021 with the club holding an option for another one-year extension.
The 31-year-old has spent six years with United since joining from Premier League rivals Chelsea and has now spent almost a decade in English football.
However, his father, Juan Manuel Mata Rodríguez, who is also his agent, has confirmed the trajectory of his career could have been different due to numerous approaches from Barcelona.
“Indeed, as he is a player who has a DNA very similar to that [Barcelona's style] football," he told VIP Deportivo when asked if Barcelona had expressed an interest.
“I agree with the Spanish national team, with colleagues of that style, because there were three occasions to sign for Barcelona. The first one was when he was at Valencia. Then when he was transferred to Chelsea, they also thought of Juan and there was a third one recently where there were also possibilities.
“However, in all of them, Juan was lucky that he was in big clubs. This did not give that circumstance [to leave] because, thank God, he was in very important clubs.”
Mata's father was also asked if his son was loved at Old Trafford and added: "Well yes. Upon arrival he was quite important because at that time he was the most important transfer in the history of Manchester United. He had a welcome, arrived by helicopter at the training centre and it was quite an event.
“And after that, staying in a team as big as Manchester United, he's spent six seasons at the highest level, playing at least 30 games per year and next to those teammates who are proud to see who they have played with. Juan is a player who is entering United's history and has won titles.”