Manchester United star Juan Mata admits he may never be able to play in the No10 role again – but he doesn’t mind
Several players including Pogba, Lingard, Mkhitaryan and Rashford are Jose Mourinho's preferred choices in the role these days, with the Spanish star forced wider into a right-midfield role
MANCHESTER UNITED star Juan Mata has admitted he may never be able to play in the No10 role again.
Having spent most of his career behind the frontman at Chelsea and during his earlier United days, Mata has been shunted out right in recent weeks.
A number of players appear to be Jose Mourinho's preferred choice in the No10 slot these days, including Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford - not to mention the returning Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Talk of a potential swoop for natural No10 Mesut Ozil will do nothing to help Mata's plight, either.
But Mata says he is more than happy to play where needed, despite the adaptation.
He revealed: “When you are a footballer sometimes you need to adapt in order to play and help the team. I have had to do that.
"I have had to adapt to play on the right side, or left, or on the wing even though I don’t consider myself a proper winger.
“But I want to play, and that’s the position I have to play if I want to be on the pitch.
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"I’m more than happy to do it because if I play as many positions as I can it helps me become a better player.
“As a kid I was a striker, then I was a left-winger for a while. Then I played No10 most of the time.
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"It’s only since I came to Manchester United that I am playing on the right.”
Meanwhile, Mata has had his say on which players have served as role models for him down the years, citing Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho as two influences.
He revealed: “One was Maradona, another was Zinedine Zidane, and a third was Ronaldinho when he played at Barcelona. They were really special players.
“The best I’ve played against is Lionel Messi."