Juan Mata could be drawing closer to his dreams of moving nearer home if the rumours linking him to a shock move to Nou Camp are going to materialise in the summer season. He has also been linked with a move to arch-rivals Athletico Madrid.
The former Chelsea midfielder was on target over the weekend when he scored against his former employer, his contract is expected to come to an end this summer and the hock move to Spain could come in handy.
Manchester United’s Juan Mata is a shock transfer target for Barcelona but there’s a catch. He would have to take a pay cut if he wants to join the La Liga champions next season.
Mata is expected to leave Old Trafford once his contract runs out in June. He wants to play in Spain but wasn’t expecting Barca to show such interest.
But the issue is that he will have to play for less than the £170,000-a-week he earns at United to make the dream move happen, claim The Sun.
The 31-year-old feels he has two more seasons left in him at the highest level despite not playing every week at United.
A new Reds deal hasn’t been totally ruled out but Mata is considering his options. He can leave for free and Barcelona are keen to add more depth to their squad as they prepare another challenge next season.
He could be joining the European champions if the Spanish side continues to impress in the Champions League.
They face Liverpool on Wednesday night and are two legs away from the final. But Barca’s Ivan Rakitic says he doesn’t need telling how good Liverpool forward three are.
“I have a lot of respect for Liverpool as Klopp’s teams have always been very organised, and he has managed to improve his players,” he said.
”It will be quite difficult to defend them because they are very good. We need to stop them running at our defence. We are going there to score but we mustn’t lose our heads
”I hope we can stop them as soon as possible, control the tempo of the game and keep them away from our goal.
”We have to understand that they are a good team who know what football they [need to] play. We have to prepare our game, play a great match and understand what we have to do.”