Chelsea would be crazy to sell Mata but he’d be perfect for Barcelona

Juan Mata to Barcelona would not only give the Spanish Champions a goal scoring midfielder but a true team player. However, could this also mean a Chelsea decline? Would it be a decision they could even consider taking? Certainly, the £30m being rumoured is nonsense and cannot be justified and Jose Mourinho will have no role in contract negotiation. It could just be sensationalism, but what if it’s not?

With Torres and Mata in the Barcelona line up, it would create a very Spanish feel to the team but also an unselfish paring in a mostly unselfish team. Torres would provide a key element upfront by linking the good attacking play by holding the ball up or playing off the last defender and beating the offside trap. With Mata, Barcelona would get a calming influence in the team which they lacked in the attacking third last season, especially in the Champions League. If they couldn’t just pass it to Messi they didn’t know what to do, so Mata would bring fresh ideas and fresh impetus. Even though Barcelona won La Liga convincingly this season, it might not be enough to just win the league next season. After all, last season was considered to be tumultuous but still yielded the league and a Champions League semi-final. Mata would link up the midfield and bring defenders out to create space for an onrushing midfielder or the forward. With this type of player in the team, he would bring out the best of those around him by allowing them time and more importantly, space. Nothing can be more scary than Messi and Neymar in space.

Mata has been pivotal in the Chelsea line up and the fans have really taken to him. Not only did he give his all for the team, he made them tick. Oscar and Hazard will be better players for playing alongside Mata this season and Chelsea would feel his loss. Mata has won everything football can throw at him at domestic and International level and with this in mind, the new Chelsea recruits would miss out on a great education with Mata. The improvement rate he demonstrated in his second season was incredible and he could show Hazard and Oscar how to achieve similar improvements. Not to mention the impact his composure and selflessness would have on teaching De Bruyne and Schurrle.

If Mata was to join Barcelona then Real Madrid and Chelsea would suffer as the influence he brings would set Real Madrid back in La Liga. Whoever the new manager at Real Madrid may be, it will be a tough task to keep Barcelona from winning the league. For Chelsea, this means they would have given a Champions League rival and Jose Mourinho’s thorn in his side the upper hand. If Mourinho wanted to sell Mata, he would have been best to either keep him on the bench and selfishly keep him away from the other teams or sell him to AS Monaco as they won’t be in the Champions League for at least a season. By then, Chelsea would maybe recover the loss of Mata. Of course, rumours of Mourinho’s desire to sell Mata look unbelievable on face value but since when did football and Chelsea not shock with their actions?

Chelsea would be weaker next season and this is not what the Chelsea board or fans will tolerate. Mourinho will have a lot to do next season if he sells Mata and it might not pay off. As popular as the ‘Happy One’ is at Stamford Bridge, if there is any truth in this rumour and Mata ends up in blue and red next season, he will create a rod for his own back immediately. It seems incredibly unlikely that Chelsea could even consider selling their main man but if for some reason they did, it would be a terrible decision that they would regret instantly and have the folk of Barcelona celebrating a very unlikely heist.