My family feared the worst when Man United manager was appointed - but we overcame our differences

Juan Mata has revealed how his relatives were left "worried" when Jose Mourinho was appointed manager of Manchester United.

Mata joined the Red Devils during the winter transfer window of 2014, leaving Chelsea having becoming a bench player shortly after Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge in 2013.

The Spanish midfielder had been named Player of the Year at Chelsea in successive seasons prior to the homecoming of the Portuguese coach, but quickly found himself surplus to requirements at the London club for no apparent reason.

It was for this reason he chose to seek an exit from the club in 2014, becoming David Moyes' second high-profile signing on the back of a £27.5m deal for Marouane Fellaini completed during the summer of 2013.

Opening up on his relationship with Mourinho and whether he was ever given an explanation for being frozen out at Chelsea, Mata said: "No. I suffered an injury in pre-season and when I came back, Mourinho already had his team. It was always for football reasons. I understood that the way I played didn't fit in with his idea. It was a difficult moment in my career, because I went from enjoying it to the maximum to being relegated to another role.

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"In our case, there wasn't much communication, neither from Mourinho nor me. It wasn't a long time - just until Manchester United arrived in the transfer window. One of the things I'm most proud of is that, when we met again in Manchester years later, I was able to stay at Old Trafford and be important for Mourinho there.

"We didn't speak then about what happened at Chelsea; we talked about the present, about Spanish football, about London, but not about that. In fact, we got to have a relationship - a relationship that we still have, which was much closer than our time together at Chelsea."

Mourinho was appointed manager of the Red Devils in the summer of 2016 following Louis van Gaal's dismissal, raising immediate concerns for Mata over whether his playing time would be affected. This did not prove to be the case, though his family certainly feared the worst.

"The people around me were worried," the Spaniard told FourFourTwo. "My grandfather was asking me what was going to happen. My friends were also writing to me and telling me how I wasn't leaving.

"I wanted to wait, work as usual with the same attitude and see what role I had. Luckily, I started to play, to feel important, to enjoy myself and to have a closer relationship with both Mourinho and my teammates."

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