Jose Mourinho after showing the door to another player
#2 Juan Mata
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Juan Mata could be offloaded again by Mourinho at Manchester United
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Juan Mata was another player to be discarded by Mourinho at the peak of his powers. Mata had won Chelsea's Player of the year award for two consecutive seasons as well as Chelsea Player's Player of the year in 2013. He was then benched by Mourinho who preferred Oscar in the number 10 role.
The Portuguese later described Mata as a luxury player, incapable of adapting to his system and style of play. Chelsea lacked creativity in the midfield without the Spaniard and the side as a whole struggled to score goals and create opportunities for their strikers.
Mata was sold to rivals Manchester United for £37.1m where he has had several up and down moments. With the arrival of Van Gaal at United, Mata's form improved, but the Dutchman has since been replaced by Mourinho, and Mata is yet again set for a spell on the sidelines.
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About the author
Arvind Sriram
After a brief and undistinguished stint as an electrical engineer, Arvind discovered his true calling was churning out hyperbolic prose about athletes he had never met.
A writer and editor with close to a decade’s experience, Arvind’s work has been published on Sky Sports, the BBC, the Guardian and other leading websites. He has attended multiple Grand Slams on the ground and provided coverage for Super Bowls and the NBA playoffs.
As a lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Indianapolis Colts, he has mastered the art of managing expectations and can convince anyone that finishing fourth is a moral victory.
When not armchair quarterbacking, Arvind spends his time playing blitz chess online, watching air crash documentaries and smashing controllers after his latest Weekend League defeat.
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