“It was sad to see him [go]” – Juan Mata opens up on time under ‘scary’ manager at Manchester United

Juan Mata has opened up about his time at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal. The Spaniard has claimed that the Dutchman was a scary but sensible coach.

Van Gaal managed the Red Devils from 2014 to 2016 and won the FA Cup in his final match with the club. He was sacked in favor of Jose Mourinho, who went on to win the Europa League at Old Trafford.

Mata was talking about Van Gaal on the UTD Podcast when he revealed the Dutchman was a scary coach. He said:

"He was scary! He was scary, I tell you! He was a very nice man, very genuine. Very sensible. You wouldn't expect that, but he was very sensible. He could even get emotional and cry sometimes when he was speaking about important matters that he found with the right values, or the right football... he got emotional. So he was more than a football manager with his tactics; he was a great human being and I learned a lot from him in that sense.

"We had some good moments also: qualifying for the Champions League and winning the FA Cup, which I felt was very important for us and for him. He had a speech in which he thanked us for winning the trophy and how happy he was. I don't think he knew if he was going to continue or not, so it wasn't a proper farewell. But it was an emotional speech, and after that of course we exchanged messages and things, but it was sad to see him [go]. Especially because of how he was as a man."

What next for Manchester United's Juan Mata?

Juan Mata is heading towards the end of his contract at Manchester United, and there has been no clarification over his future. Reports suggest the Spaniard is set to leave the club this summer and will be heading back to LaLiga.

Manchester United are heading into a new era with Erik ten Hag taking over in the summer. He will be looking for fresh faces in the squad, and exciting times are ahead for the Red Devils.