Chelsea’s Number 10 looking to grow
Chelsea FC’s top summer signing Juan Mata has expressed his delight at how things have gone so far in London claiming it is important to grow as a person both on and off the pitch.
Mata arrived at Chelsea this summer for a fee of £23.5m and has since been involved in the majority of Chelsea’s football matches, losing just the once against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The winger admits that he is learning the language as he goes along as part of his studies.
“I have been given the opportunity to grow as a footballer within a really big club. However, this is not just a chance to grow on a professional level but also on a personal level because I am living in a new country, learning the language and studying.”
“It’s important for me to grow as a person; to gain new experiences, to explore other cultures, ways of life and learn a new language.”
Although Mata has not explored London as much as would have liked so far, he does intend to delve much further into England’s capital City.
“I haven’t seen too much of London yet, but the area around Stamford Bridge – the King’s Road, Chelsea and Fulham – is really impressive. This seems to be a very cosmopolitan, multicultural city, so I’m really looking forward to exploring it.”
Juan Mata was also full of praise for two former Chelsea forwards and hopes he too will eventually be remembered just as they are today.
“Gianfranco Zola was an incredibly talented player, a really high-quality footballer, who scored a lot of goals and was involved in setting up a lot of goals as well. On arriving here at Chelsea, it’s quite clear that he’s a legend and that people have a lot of respect for him, that’s what he deserves, as he was a brilliant player.”
The Chelsea midfielder added.
I remember when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink played in Spain, for Atletico Madrid, and he scored a lot of goals. People in Spain would call him “The Hasselbaink Rifle” because he would always be shooting!”
Mata is likely to make another appearance for the side when they face Everton at Stamford Bridge on the 15th of October.
