Juan Mata has written an open letter to Chelsea\u00a0fans following his \u00a337.1 million move to rivals Manchester United.<\/p>\n
In the letter published on his official website, Mata opens his heart to the Chelsea fans who so adored him during his time at Stamford Bridge, explaining why he felt it necessary to leave the club \u2013 and for a direct rival no less.<\/p>\n
In an era where players are often roundly abused by supporters who once idolised them, Mata\u2019s lovely gesture is a reminder that a bond can exist between players and fans even after their time at a club has come to an end.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis letter is written from my heart, and first of all I would like to say that I will never forget all the affection given to me by the Chelsea fans. From the very first day until the last.”<\/p>\n
\u201cWith your support and affection I have grown up as a player and I have had an amazing time both on and off the pitch. I will always feel the gratitude towards you. Always. No words are enough to give back all the things I have received.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you so much for the way you have treated me, you have been unbelievable. I hope you understand that after going through a complicated and, for me, new situation in the last few months, I believe this is the best choice in order to carry on with my football career and to keep enjoying this sport.\u201d Mata said.<\/p>\n
However, the Spaniard resisted the temptation to have a pop at his former manager, and instead in his thoroughly classy letter wanted to pay tribute to employees at all levels at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, thanks to every manager I have had the pleasure to work with during my time here. They have all been a big help for my progression as a player. I have always respected their decisions, whatever they were; they made me more mature and a stronger person. You learn from everything, and certain situations make you think about other team mates who are coping with similar situations more regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Mata finished his letter to Chelsea supporters in emotional fashion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will never forget my time in Chelsea and the affection I take with me, I will keep forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish you the best. A big hug to all of you.<\/p>\n
\u201cTHANK YOU so much, Juan<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Juan Mata has written an open letter to Chelsea\u00a0fans following his \u00a337.1 million move to rivals Manchester United. In the letter published on his official website, Mata opens his heart to the Chelsea fans who so adored him during his time at Stamford Bridge, explaining why he felt it necessary to leave the club \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,80],"tags":[37],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1047"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1065,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions\/1065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}