Juan Mata Reflects on Man United, Rashford and the Future Under Amorim | OneFootball

Football in Full Colour: Juan Mata’s Artistic Renaissance and Manchester United’s Cultural Crossroads

Art Meets Football in the City That Breathes Both

Juan Mata has always played football with grace, intelligence and poise. But what becomes clearer with every passing season is that he was never just playing the game — he was studying it, sculpting it, and now, exhibiting it. In a remarkable crossover that few former players could carry off with sincerity and vision, Mata returns to Manchester not with a ball at his feet but surrounded by canvases, installations and a sense of wonder, As the Former Manchester United Star spoke to The Athletic about his new venture.

Mata’s latest creative venture, Football City, Art United, offers a thought-provoking blend of disciplines. It is his exhibition, part of the Manchester International Festival, but also a manifesto for a future where footballers can be artists, and art can be just as moving as a 90th-minute winner at the Stretford End.

“I would say curiosity, curiosity and the will to learn from a different world,” Mata explains to The Athletic. “I always thought that art and football have some similarities that have been overlooked over the years, the way that you can express yourself through something, the way that you can impact society in many ways, the way to communicate with people.”

That notion, once dismissed as whimsical, is now fully realised in installations that fuse professional players and celebrated artists. From Edgar Davids to Vivianne Miedema and Lotte Wubben-Moy, the crossovers feel purposeful, not performative.

From Trequartista to Tastemaker

This isn’t Mata’s first brush with curatorship. His debut exhibition, The Trequartista, opened in 2023 and set the tone for a broader narrative — that the football pitch and the art gallery are not distant realms, but parallel platforms of expression. If The Trequartista was the sketch, Football City, Art United is the oil painting.

The collaborations are fascinating. Ella Toone’s contribution — a Shetland pony-inspired ceiling mask — is playfully surreal. Shinji Kagawa’s joint piece with Chikyuu no Osakana Pon-chan reimagines Wayne Rooney as a manga character. “Me neither!” Mata chuckles when told of the shock value.

Yet there is sincerity in these efforts. They are not novelty pairings but expressions of player personalities, cultural identities and unspoken aspirations. Footballers, especially those like Mata, carry within them experiences that transcend sport. They have lived through tectonic shifts in cities and clubs, carried the pressure of global eyes, and adapted to life far from home.

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Despite this side project, Mata is quick to reiterate where his heart lies. He spent last season playing for Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League and continues to be committed to the game. “I am still a footballer first,” is the quiet subtext of his actions.

Return to Manchester and Red Reflection

That makes his return to Manchester all the more poignant. For eight and a half years, Mata wore the red of United with distinction, scoring in finals, winning trophies, and providing a voice of calm through chaotic times. Yet he also experienced the club’s post-Ferguson identity crisis first-hand. That blend of love and loss pervades his reflections.

“I love Manchester. I love the club. I love the people. I loved the appreciation that I received,” he says.

He speaks with affection and regret — the sense that his era, while noble, didn’t quite reach the heights expected. “I hoped that when I left the following seasons, with new players, new coaches, things were going to work. Don’t get me wrong, the club has been winning trophies, but I understand that the demands of this club are so high and it’s probably not good enough.”

It is the same discontent felt in the stands at Old Trafford, where silverware no longer papers over systemic flaws. But Mata, ever diplomatic, is keen to contextualise United’s fall not through internal collapse but external evolution.

“Football today is very competitive; all the clubs are improving. They’re having bigger budgets, better players… you really have to have a great coach and great culture in the club to get results.”

Amorim, Rashford and What Comes Next

In Ruben Amorim, Mata sees a flicker of hope. “My impression from afar — and I’m very far in Australia — is that he’s got a lot of energy. I think it’s needed.”

He hasn’t met Amorim, but like many United fans, he’s seen the pressers and liked what he’s witnessed. “(His) enthusiasm, energy and passion for what he does and passion for helping the club. I love that.”

One of Amorim’s first big calls has been the marginalisation of Marcus Rashford. Once Mata’s “wonderkid”, Rashford has seen his No 10 shirt handed to Matheus Cunha, and along with Jadon Sancho, Tyrell Malacia, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho, has been allowed to delay his return to pre-season.

“I saw his first training (session) with us. I love him. As a kid, I called him ‘the wonderkid’. The way he played was fearless, you could feel he could win a game by himself at any time when he was playing at his best.”

Mata wants him to stay. “As a Man United fan and as a friend of Marcus, I wish that he can succeed here because it’s his club, his boyhood club. I don’t know what’s going to happen but if he stays and he can actually be happy and enjoy, I think it will be a win-win situation for both the club and him.”

Whether Rashford’s path leads him elsewhere remains to be seen, but the club’s identity is again in flux. From front-office reshuffles to multiple rounds of redundancies, it’s a period of uncomfortable transformation.

“It’s difficult for me to say, of course, and I cannot speak if I’m not there, if I don’t know. It’s true that things are changing in the club. I just hope it’s for the best because I want the best for the club.”

What Mata insists must remain, though, is culture — that elusive glue which holds successful football institutions together.

“It always has been very useful to me to understand where I was. I still do that now in Australia, even now it’s a different story. But I think that’s very important from a club point of view and from a player point of view.”

Optimism Rooted in Legacy and Loyalty

The optimism, then, is not blind. It is rooted in memory and meaning. Mata was a student of Manchester long before he became its cultural interpreter. He understands the essence of a city built on shared spirit, from Lowry to the Stretford End.

“I’m optimistic because I really believe that this club is way too big, way too powerful, way too good to not be where it can be. My hope, my will is that it will be soon. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but what I know is that Man United will be back to where they belong.”

These are the words of someone who has seen enough disappointment to speak with caution, but enough soul to still believe.

That he delivers this optimism while curating a football-art hybrid in Manchester’s beating cultural heart says everything about Juan Mata. He is still playing in Australia, still backing Real Oviedo, still dreaming for United, and still asking the right questions over coffee with curators.

Football needs more Juan Matas. Not because of what they win, but because of what they understand.

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Juan Mata always carried himself with class, but this latest project proves he’s more than just a model pro — he’s a pioneer for footballers as thinkers, creators and, yes, even curators.

His comments on Marcus Rashford hit hard. We all remember ‘the wonderkid’. It’s sad to see how far that narrative has slipped, but Mata still believes in him, and that gives the rest of us hope too. If there’s any player who deserves to reclaim form in a United shirt, it’s Marcus.

The endorsement of Amorim is reassuring. From afar, many of us don’t know what to make of him yet, but if Mata sees energy and potential, we’re listening. His insight always came from a place of thoughtfulness, not noise.

Seeing names like Kagawa, Toone and Cantona pop up in an art exhibit is bonkers in the best way. It’s Manchester doing what it’s always done — reinventing and influencing. Culture and football? They’re not separate. This shows they never were.

United might still be a mess behind the scenes, but this makes me believe we’ve still got a soul worth fighting for.