Early career Mata started his football career at
Real Oviedo in 2000, where his father spent part of his career, before joining Real Madrid's youth academy,
La Fábrica, in 2003 at the age of 15. After appearing for their
Cadete A team, he then swiftly progressed through the junior teams,
Juvenil C and finally
Juvenil A. In his last campaign (2005–06), he scored two goals in the league and three more in the
Copa de Campeones, including the winner in the final against
Real Valladolid, adding another three in the
Copa del Rey Juvenil. Switching to
Real Madrid Castilla in
2006–07, Mata was given the number 34 shirt in the first team, while wearing number 28 in Castilla. In spite of Castilla's final
Segunda División relegation, he finished the season as the side's second best scorer with nine, behind
striker Álvaro Negredo, who registered 18.
Valencia in 2009 Mata had a release clause at Real Madrid during his last season at the club, and eventually agreed to sign for fellow
La Liga side
Valencia CF in March 2007 on a contract starting on 30 June 2007. Benefitting from the chances from
Vicente's injury problems and
Ronald Koeman sidelining
Miguel Ángel Angulo, Mata gradually carved a niche in Valencia's first eleven. On 20 March 2008, he scored twice in the
Copa del Rey semi-final match against
FC Barcelona to help Valencia reach
the final against
Getafe CF where, on 16 April, he scored the opener in a 3–1 win. During that first season, he was voted the team's
Best Young Player by fans and players alike. In the
2008 Spanish Super Cup, Mata scored against his former club Real Madrid in a 3–2 first leg win, but Valencia lost 5–6 on aggregate after a 2–4 away loss in the second game. He started
2008–09 well, scoring in the opener against
RCD Mallorca in a 3–0 win. He also scored the only goal of the game against
CA Osasuna, latching on to a long ball from
David Villa. On 25 September 2008, Mata proved to be growing in efficiency, as he set up two of his teammate's goals in a 2–0 away win over
Málaga CF. Three days later, he put in a superb performance against
Deportivo de La Coruña, scoring one and creating the other three, in a 4–2 home victory. Towards the end of the campaign, Mata managed to score two very important late goals for Valencia: the first, the 3–2 winner at
Sporting de Gijón, and the second a
penalty against
Sevilla FC at home, to put Valencia 2–1 up (specialist Villa had already been replaced due to injury) in an eventual 3–1 success. He achieved impressive stats during the season, finishing with 11 successful strikes and 13
assists, behind just Barcelona's
Xavi as the league's best. In the following two seasons, Mata was an ever present offensive figure for Valencia, scoring 17 goals in 68 league games combined, with the club achieving back-to-back third-league places. On 10 April 2011, he scored two in a 5–0 home win against
Valencian neighbours
Villarreal CF. On 9 May, England-based Spanish journalist
Guillem Balagué reported interest from several
Premier League clubs.
Chelsea Transfer On 21 August 2011, Valencia announced they had agreed a £23.5 million fee for the transfer of Mata to
Premier League club
Chelsea, subject to a medical. On 24 August 2011, Mata signed a five-year deal with Chelsea. He revealed that compatriot
Fernando Torres helped persuade him to move to
Stamford Bridge, saying "Fernando got me excited about the thought of coming here. He said it would be good for me here, and that me and him together could be good. I also talked to my family and friends about it as well." On 26 August 2011,
Yossi Benayoun offered Mata his number 10 shirt, saying "I decided to give Mata the number 10 – his favourite. For me, it's just a number, not my lucky 15." (
Florent Malouda wore number 15 for Chelsea at the time). Mata wore number 10 for Valencia and for Spain's under-21s in the summer, and expressed his gratitude to Benayoun. "It is a very important number to me so I'm pleased to be wearing it. I want to thank Yossi," he said. Mata followed on from Chelsea players
Joe Cole,
Mark Hughes,
Ian Hutchinson, and
Terry Venables in adopting the number 10 shirt.
2011–13: European success defender
Jérôme Boateng in the
2012 UEFA Champions League Final Mata made his debut for Chelsea against
Norwich City on 27 August 2011, where he came on as a 68th-minute substitute for
Florent Malouda and scored the club's third goal in the 11th minute of stoppage time. Chelsea went on to win the match 3–1. He started his first game for his new club in their next fixture on 10 September away to
Sunderland, helping Chelsea secure a 1–2 win. On 14 September, Mata made his
UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea and scored in stoppage time to help his side defeat
Bayer Leverkusen 2–0. On 29 October 2011, Mata assisted Chelsea's 6,000th league goal with an in-swinging cross which was headed in by
Frank Lampard. In the same game, Mata scored with a spectacular 25-yard strike in a 3–5 home defeat to London rivals
Arsenal. On 26 November, Mata set up the first two goals which were scored by
John Terry and
Daniel Sturridge and also scored the third goal himself in a 3–0 win against
Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was awarded the Man of the Match in a 0–3 away win at
St James' Park for his performance against
Newcastle United. On 6 December 2011, during Chelsea's decisive Champions League match against former club
Valencia CF, Mata created two assists for both of
Didier Drogba goals. The game ended in a 3–0 win, which resulted in Chelsea qualifying first from their group. On Boxing Day, Mata scored his side's only goal in a 1–1 draw at
Stamford Bridge against
Fulham. Mata scored Chelsea's first goal of their
FA Cup campaign in a 4–0 win over
Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge. In an FA Cup fourth round tie with
Queens Park Rangers at
Loftus Road, Mata scored his side's only goal from the penalty spot in a 0–1 victory. On 5 February 2012, Mata scored against
Manchester United in a 3–3 draw. On 21 February, Mata scored his side's only goal in their 1–3 defeat away at
Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. After the appointment of
Roberto Di Matteo as interim first-team coach, Mata was played as a central attacking midfielder rather than being played on the left wing. Mata scored and had a penalty saved by
Colin Doyle in the FA Cup fifth round replay against
Birmingham City at
St Andrew's, which Chelsea won 2–0, helping them into the quarter-finals of the
FA Cup. He continued his trait of scoring in each round; this run, however, ended against
Leicester City in the quarter-final, which Chelsea nonetheless won 5–2. On 7 April, Mata scored his 11th goal of the season against
Wigan Athletic, giving the Blues a 2–1 victory over the Latics and kept alive Chelsea's fight for a Champions League spot. On 15 April, in Chelsea's 5–1 win against
Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final at
Wembley Stadium, Mata scored a controversial goal and assisted
Ramires and
Florent Malouda for their goals, adding to his statistics in the
2011–12 FA Cup with four goals and three assists. Mata started in both legs of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final clash with reigning champions
FC Barcelona, helping his side to an unexpected 3–2 win on aggregate. and set up a
final clash with
Bayern Munich on 19 May. Mata provided two assists to fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres in the 6–1 thrashing of
West London rivals Queens Park Rangers on 29 April, bringing his tally to 13 Premier League assists on the season. Mata assisted the first goal in the
FA Cup final, which
Ramires scored, as Chelsea beat
Liverpool 2–1 at Wembley, with Mata picking up the Man of the Match award. On 10 May, Mata was rewarded for his consistent form throughout his first Chelsea season by the fans voting him the club's Player of the Year, following on from Chelsea legends such as
Dennis Wise and
Gianfranco Zola, whom he had been compared to on various occasions. In the
2012 UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich on 19 May, Mata assisted Didier Drogba's headed equaliser from a corner kick in the 88th minute. The match went on to extra time and penalties, with Mata taking Chelsea's first, which Bayern goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer saved. Chelsea, however, went on to win 4–3 in the penalty-shootout, lifting their first Champions League title. Mata finished his first season at Stamford Bridge with 573 passes, creating 66 chances and completing 61 successful crosses, which all contributed to Chelsea's cup-double winning season. He finished the Premier League season with 14 assists – second highest in the league after
Manchester City's
David Silva – and six goals. Mata missed all of Chelsea's pre-season games as he was playing for
Spain at the
2012 Summer Olympics in London, but he returned to play in the
2012 FA Community Shield against Manchester City and was substituted after 74 minutes for Daniel Sturridge. Mata assisted his first goal of the season on 22 September 2012 against
Stoke City, providing a great flick to
Ashley Cole, which turned out to be the winning goal as Chelsea won 1–0. He scored his first goal of the season in the
2012–13 Football League Cup third round against Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the game finishing 6–0 to Chelsea. Four days later, he scored his first
Premier League goal of the season, assisting
Fernando Torres for the opener and then scoring directly from a free-kick in a 2–1 away win against Arsenal at the
Emirates Stadium. Mata scored Chelsea's first and third goal in the
Champions League as Chelsea beat
Nordsjælland 0–4 away in
Farum, Denmark. He later provided two assists in Chelsea's 4–1 rout of
Norwich City, sending
Eden Hazard through on goal and later flicking a delightful ball for defender
Branislav Ivanović to volley in. In a
London Derby game against Tottenham Hotspur at
White Hart Lane on 20 October, Mata scored twice and provided an assist for Daniel Sturridge in a 2–4 victory for Chelsea, where he also earned Man of the Match honours. He next scored in a Premier League match with a beautiful free kick against
Manchester United. Chelsea, however, lost the match 3–2 after a late controversial goal from
Javier Hernández. Mata went on to win the
Premier League Player of the Month award for October after scoring three league goals. After manager
Roberto Di Matteo was sacked following a 3–0 defeat to
Juventus in the Champions League, Mata scored the first goal of new, interim manager
Rafael Benítez's reign at Chelsea against
West Ham United, although Chelsea suffered a 3–1 defeat in this game. He scored again in Chelsea's win over Nordsjælland in a Champions League game, but Chelsea still failed to advance to the knockouts despite a 6–1 win at home. He added to his tally of goals and his collection of fine performance at
Sunderland in a 1–3 Chelsea win. After this game, Chelsea traveled to Japan for the
2012 FIFA Club World Cup. Here, too, Mata continued his top form by scoring Chelsea's first goal in the tournament against
Monterrey in the semi-final, helping them on their course to the final with a 1–3 victory. The tournament, however, ended in disappointment as Chelsea were beaten 1–0 by Brazilian club
Corinthians in the
final. The team put the defeat behind them by completing an 8–0 routing of
Aston Villa, a game in which though Mata did not score a goal, but nevertheless played a very influential part. On 22 December 2012, Mata signed a contract extension with Chelsea which tied him up with the club until 2018. On Boxing Day, Chelsea traveled to
Carrow Road to face
Norwich City, where both Manchester United and Arsenal had suffered defeats earlier in the season. Mata scored a brilliant goal in the 38th minute, taking a pass from
Oscar into his stride and launching an unstoppable shot into the goal from 25 yards out. The goal turned out to be the winner. Then, on 5 January, Mata provided assists for new acquisition
Demba Ba and Branislav Ivanović to help Chelsea win 1–5 against
Southampton in the third round of the
2012–13 FA Cup. A week later, he forced an own goal from
Jonathan Walters by putting in a tight corner and earned a penalty which
Frank Lampard converted. Chelsea went on to win the game 0–4, which was Stoke's first home defeat of the season. Mata scored his eighth goal of the season in the Premier League against Arsenal in a 2–1 home win. On 3 March 2013, Mata made his 100th appearance in all competitions for Chelsea in a 1–0 win over
West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge. On 14 March, Mata scored an opening goal in Chelsea's
Europa League 3–1 (3–2) win against
Steaua București. On 19 April, Mata was nominated for
PFA Players' Player of the Year in recognition of his contribution to Chelsea's season in all competitions. The PFA's decision was based on his "ability to not only create goals but also score them himself" and saw him nominated alongside teammate
Eden Hazard. He also scored an 87th-minute winner against Manchester United, a crucial one for Chelsea's Champions League qualification hopes. On 15 May, Mata gave a fine performance in the
2013 UEFA Europa League Final against Portugal's
Benfica, assisting Branislav Ivanović's injury time winner from a corner kick. The next day, he was awarded Chelsea's Player's Player of the Year award. He modestly gave the credit to the whole of the squad, saying that, "he felt proud to play for Chelsea," and thanked his teammates. He was also awarded Chelsea's Player of the Year for the second successive season. On winning his second award of the night, he said, "I feel so happy. It's my second season here and winning the trophy two years in a row is amazing for me. I just want to say thank you to all the supporters and all my teammates." in 2013
2013–14: Mid-season departure Under new Chelsea manager
José Mourinho, Mata spent a lot of time on the bench. Mourinho preferred
Oscar as a
playmaker, and suggested Mata needed to adapt to a wider position and to work harder defensively. On 28 September 2013, Mata came on as a half-time substitute against
Tottenham Hotspur to assist
John Terry to score an equaliser in a 1–1 draw, but his appearances in the first team remained infrequent. On 29 October, he scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0
League Cup victory at London rivals
Arsenal. Mata struggled to secure a regular first-team place under Mourinho as he had started just 11 of Chelsea's 22 Premier League matches. Mata scored 33 goals and provided 58 assists in 135 appearances over two and a half seasons with Chelsea.
Manchester United Transfer On 24 January 2014, Mourinho said Chelsea had accepted a transfer offer from
Manchester United and he allowed Mata to travel to Manchester to undergo a medical, after the player said he was "really happy to go". Manchester United confirmed later in the day that a transfer fee had been agreed, but that the deal was still contingent on Mata agreeing personal terms and passing a medical. The transfer was completed the following day, with Manchester United paying Chelsea
a then club record fee of £37.1 million (€46 million), with Mata signing a contract until the summer of 2018.
2014–15: Debut season and individual success He made his debut against
Cardiff City on 28 January and provided one assist in the 2–0 home victory. Mata scored his first goal for United in a 4–1 win over
Aston Villa on 29 March 2014. He also went on to score two goals against
Newcastle United in a 4–0 away victory, two more against
Norwich City after coming off the bench in another 4–0 win, and the only goal in a 1–1 draw against
Southampton in the final match of the season. Mata ended the season having scored six goals for Manchester United, all in the Premier League, since he was cup tied to Chelsea in other competitions. Mata began the new season in fine form. He scored the only goal in
Manchester United's second game of the Premier League season, a 1–1 draw against
Sunderland at
Stadium of Light, following it up with a goal against
Queens Park Rangers in a 4–0 thumping, which was also
Louis van Gaal's first competitive win in charge of United. He was later dropped to the bench for the following two matches, making cameo appearances against Leicester and West Ham, with van Gaal preferring an attacking trinity of
Wayne Rooney,
Robin van Persie and new signing
Radamel Falcao in both games. Following Rooney's sending off and suspension due to a foul on
Stewart Downing in the match against West Ham, Mata was reinstated to the starting lineup, and he started the next match against
Everton, a 2–1 win at Old Trafford in which he provided the assist for new signing
Ángel Di María's goal. Mata later scored winning goals in home games against
Crystal Palace and
Stoke City, the former after coming on as a second-half substitute. He made his return to the starting line-ups for the first time, in a 3–0 win over
Tottenham but was substituted in the 77th minute for
Andreas Pereira. On 22 March 2015, Mata scored a brace, including a
bicycle kick, in a 2–1 victory over
Liverpool, a performance which he rated as his best for Manchester United. Mata's performance at Anfield led to the Old Trafford faithful coining the term 'Juanfield'. His second goal against Liverpool was also voted as Premier League Goal of the Month in March 2015. His inspired performances led to him being named as Manchester United's Player of the Month for March.
2015–16: FA Cup win in 2015. Mata, just as he had in the previous campaign, had a fine start to the season, getting an assist in the second game of the campaign against
Aston Villa, which helped maintain his side's impressive record at
Villa Park. September was a month to remember for Mata as he scored two goals and made two assists in just three games, as Manchester United claimed wins against
Liverpool,
Southampton, and
Sunderland. As a result, Mata was crowned the club's Player of The Month. Mata was made
captain for the home game against
Watford on 2 March and scored a free kick, which was also the match-winner. On 6 March, in a 1–0 defeat to
West Brom, Mata received his first career
red card after obtaining two yellow cards in the space of three minutes. Mata assisted an
Anthony Martial goal against
West Ham in the final game at the
Boleyn Ground; however, United lost 3–2, ending their chances of beating
Manchester City for fourth-place. On 21 May 2016, Mata scored for United in the
FA Cup Final against
Crystal Palace, leveling the score at 1–1 just three minutes after
Jason Puncheon's 78th-minute goal. Mata was substituted in the 90th minute and replaced by
Jesse Lingard, who would score the winning goal for United in extra time.
2016–17: UEFA Europa League, League Cup wins campaign At the beginning of the summer, Mata was reunited with his former Chelsea manager and the person who sold him to Manchester United,
José Mourinho. On 7 August 2016, Mata was selected to be on the bench in the
FA Community Shield. Mata replaced
Jesse Lingard in the second half, then was substituted in added time for
Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Although there were reports about tensions between the player and manager, after the match, Mata stated that there were no tensions between him and Mourinho. He started in the opening match of the season against
AFC Bournemouth and scored Manchester United's first Premier League goal of the season with a tap-in after
Simon Francis' error. After José Mourinho dropped captain
Wayne Rooney, Mata served as the stand-in captain in the 0–0 draw against
Burnley on 29 October 2016.
2017–20: Later years and contract extension Mata scored his third brace of his Manchester United career, scoring both goals in a Boxing Day fixture against
Leicester City. However, his efforts were cancelled out by a late equaliser from
Harry Maguire which saw the match finish 2–2. Mata finished the season with three goals in 40 appearances for the Red Devils, as United finished second in the Premier League and lost in the
2018 FA Cup Final against his former club,
Chelsea. On 6 October 2018, Mata scored United's first goal in a 3–2 comeback win over
Newcastle United. On 7 November, Mata scored the equaliser from a free kick in another late comeback 2–1 win over
Juventus in a
Champions League group stage fixture. Mata also scored in a 4–1 win over
Fulham on 8 December, before scoring his final goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against his former club
Chelsea on 28 April 2019. On 19 June 2019, it was confirmed that Mata had signed a new two-year contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the club until June 2021 with the option of a further year. This ended months of speculation over his future. Mata's first goal of the
2019–20 season came from the spot in 4–0 win over
AZ in United's final
Europa League group stage game. Mata later scored the only goal in January in an
FA Cup third round replay against
Wolverhampton Wanderers. Mata then scored in United's final game before the temporary suspension of football due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in a 5–0 victory over
LASK.
2020–21 season After scoring against
Luton and
Brighton in the third and fourth round of the
League Cup respectively, Mata received praise for his performance in a comeback 4–1 win against
Newcastle United in the
Premier League on 17 October 2020. Whilst not scoring he provided an assist for
Maguire's equaliser as well as being involved in the build up for all other goals. Manager
Ole Gunnar Solskjær described his game as "fantastic" while
Sky Sports said United's win was "largely thanks to [Solskjær's] decision to turn to Mata". On 23 May 2021, he scored his only Premier League goal of the season, a penalty in a 2–1 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
2021–22 season in 2021 On 2 July 2021, Mata signed a contract extension with Manchester United, keeping him at the club for another year. After having made twelve appearances throughout the whole 2021–22 campaign, the last of which was during the team's last
league fixture against
Crystal Palace (on 22 May 2022), Mata left the club at the end of the season following his contract expiration. His time at Old Trafford came to an end after eight years, a total amount of 285 appearances and 51 goals and four trophies won with the club.
Galatasaray On 8 September 2022, Mata signed a one-year contract with Turkish
Süper Lig team
Galatasaray as a
free agent, with the option to extend the deal by a further year. He made his debut on 24 September, in a friendly match against Istanbulspor and showed an impressive performance. He scored his first Süper Lig goal on 28 October after coming on as a second-half substitute against
Fatih Karagümrük. Mata won the
2022–23 title, with a 4–1 away win against
Ankaragücü on 30 May 2023 securing the title two weeks before the end of the season, the 23rd championship in club history. On 1 July 2023, it was announced that he left Galatasaray, and a farewell message was published.
Vissel Kobe On 3 September 2023,
J1 League club
Vissel Kobe announced the signing of Mata, handing him the club's number 64 shirt. Mata made just one appearance for the club, coming on as a substitute for the final ten minutes of a 2–0 away loss to
Sanfrecce Hiroshima on 16 September; however, he still received a medal as Vissel Kobe were crowned J1 League champions that
season.
Western Sydney Wanderers On 5 September 2024, Mata joined
Australian club
Western Sydney Wanderers ahead of the new
A-League Men season. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 January 2025 in a 2–3 loss to
Macarthur FC. He would only feature for 599 minutes during the season, due to a falling out with head coach
Alen Stajcic.
Melbourne Victory On 16 September 2025, Mata joined
A-League side
Melbourne Victory for the
2025–26 season. ==International career==