Magical Juan Mata ponders Victory future
Anna Harrington |
Juan Mata doesn’t know yet whether he could be about to cast his final spells as Melbourne Victory’s magician.
The Spanish superstar known as ‘El Mago’ is out of contract at season’s end and hasn’t decided on his future.
Victory would desperately love to keep Mata, who has a league-leading 13 assists plus five goals this A-League Men campaign.
When asked if he could see himself playing on at Victory beyond this season, the globetrotting Mata told AAP: “Maybe. I don’t know yet, to be honest.
“To be honest, I haven’t put my mind into that. I want to finish the finals — hopefully it’s going to be good for us — and then take some time to make a decision with myself, with my family, and put everything in the balance.
“What I can say is that up until now, I have enjoyed this season. I have enjoyed on the pitch, off the pitch, in the training ground, the culture and the environment in the club.
“So I haven’t made a decision yet. I will do it after.”
Mata laughed when asked if there was anything Victory could do to guarantee he’d stay, believing coach Arthur Diles, football boss John Didulica and managing director Caroline Carnegie have more than done their part.
The 38-year-old believes Victory can make a run from fourth and claim silverware, but can’t say whether that will impact his decision.
“I don’t know. I need to see how I feel,” he said ahead of Saturday’s elimination final against Sydney FC at AAMI Park.
“I mean, I’m dreaming now, but if we go through and then we win the whole thing, it’s gonna be an amazing feeling. I don’t know how I’ll feel there in terms of keep going, or is it very nice and the … I don’t really know.
“I will make a decision after and I don’t want to make it straight after the elimination or the final. I want to take some time and then see how much I enjoy playing football. That’s the main thing. And then the rest can come after.”
Beyond playing, ex-Manchester United and Chelsea wizard Mata remains open to investing in Australian soccer – including potentially investing in Victory.
“Yeah, it’s something that I’m still open to do, to have conversations,” he said.
“And yeah, why not? If I believe in something, I think it’s nice to be involved somehow in it, if you can provide something or you can bring something different to the table. So I’m open to it.”
One thing Mata is certain of is that after he inevitably returns to Europe, he’ll come back to Australia, having developed a special connection with the country.
The Spaniard loves Melbourne and has a long list of favourite haunts.
That includes restaurants from the Great Ocean Road to the Mornington Peninsula, coffee haunts in Fitzroy and trips to the Melbourne Museum – where an “amazing” exhibition on Rome and a 60 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton are his highlights.
“This is incredible – they have the biggest skeleton of a triceratops!” Mata said in delight.
“It’s the biggest and oldest and the best condition. You have to see it. It’s unbelievable.”
Australian football fans maybe need to take a similar approach to the Mata show: catch it while you can.
The World Cup and Champions League winner, ready to start after returning from a fractured elbow, has no plans of it ending on Saturday night.
“With these elimination rounds, anything can happen in one day, but I’m confident that we’re gonna show our level,” Mata said.
“It’s a privilege to play these games, to feel some pressure.
“It’s gonna be nice with the atmosphere. It’s a good opportunity.
“We all love to play football, but especially you love to play when it means most – and finals is a stage.”
AAP