Tuesday 28 January 2014



Mata will in the end be wearing the nº8 jersey for Manchester United, despite the fact that the British tabloids had assured the Spaniard would be wearing the famous nº7 that Beckham carried for years, and that has been free since the Englishman left.

"I think that the number 8 is a great number. I know that the 7 is an icon here. David Moyes and myself have decided that 8 is good for me. I hope it brings me luck", said Mata in his unveiling.

Mata, who was Chelsea's nº10, declared that he was arriving at Old Trafford ready to "win titles" and "hopes" that he is the player that the Red Devils need to breathe some new life into the squad and them move back up the table

"What I most like about this team is its character. I think that if any other club was in this position in the league, it would be very hard to fight back and make it to the top spot, but this club can. This is the idea I have of United, a club that always fights hard to win titles and always comes back when the going gets tough", he said.

He admitted that one of the reasons for signing with United was the upcoming World Cup: "It was very important because it's not easy to get into the Spain squad. I think this is a great opportunity to keep playing and keep on form".

For Mata, it was the perfect moment to move to United: "It was a fantastic opportunity for me to continue in England. This was the moment and (United) was the club", he assured.