Eriksen snubbed Man Utd 'because of Juan Mata' before Erik ten Hag intervened

07 April 2023 , 12:37

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Christian Eriksen was unsure about joining Manchester United in 2020 (Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Christian Eriksen allegedly snubbed a transfer to Manchester United because of the treatment Juan Mata received before Erik ten Hag arrived on the scene and managed to change the midfielder's mind.

Denmark international Eriksen had been on Man United's radar for quite some time prior to this summer when they snapped him up on a free transfer following a short spell at Brentford.

The Red Devils first registered an interest in the 31-year-old when he was plying his trade at Tottenham back in 2019 and set about trying to poach the midfielder then as his contract in north London was beginning to wind down.

But as reported by The Athletic at the time, Eriksen opted against a move to Old Trafford after considering the treatment of Mata following his transfer to United from Chelsea.

Mata put pen to paper at Man United during the David Moyes era in 2014 and went on to represent the club until 2022, playing under Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

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None of the five managers was ever able to get the best out of Mata, who impressed during his days at Stamford Bridge, with the Spaniard in and out of the first team during a tumultuous period for the club.

Eriksen reportedly viewed this as a red flag and in 2020 opted to snub the Red Devils and put pen to paper with Inter Milan.

Juan Mata spent eight years at Manchester United (Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

Two years on and Eriksen was back in the Premier League following his cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match. The incident threatened to end his career but the midfielder made a remarkable return to football with Brentford.

Moving onto bigger and better things, Eriksen left the Bees for United at the end of the season as new boss Ten Hag took the reins.

Coincidentally, at the same time, Mata finally left Old Trafford after eight years of service, alongside a number of other midfielders who had been in and out of the first team over the past few years including Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba.

This freed up room for Eriksen to help kickstart the new era at United under their Dutch coach and his transfer has proven to be a stroke of genius for both his career and United's progression.

Prior to a recent injury, which has kept Eriksen out for the past few weeks, the midfielder was one of the first names on Ten Hag's teamsheet as United set about making a top-four place their own.

Eriksen is now back in the United squad and could return this weekend against Everton.

Jake Polden