Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata has squashed weeks of rumours and speculation by insisting that he is happy at Stanford Bridge and is focused on establishing himself as a starter in Jose Mourinho’s line-up this season.
The player was linked with a host of clubs including Manchester United, Athletico Madrid, Valencia and Arsenal in the course of the summer transfer window after being left out of the starting eleven for three Chelsea matches. As a result, the player was omitted from Spain’s squad for this week’s World Cup qualifiers.
In an interview with Chelsea TV, Mata said, “I think it’s normal in every transfer window that there are lots of rumours, but I’m happy here.
“It’s been a very, very good two seasons for me here, maybe the best of my career, and what I want this season is the same.
“I’m looking forward to achieving as many trophies as we did the last two seasons, and hopefully this is going to be a good season for us again.”
Mata admitted the thigh injury he suffered ahead of pre-season had hampered him, but added: “My only aim is to play here, grow as a player and do as good a season as the last two which were amazing for me.”
“These two seasons have flown by… but to me this is good because, when you are enjoying things and you are happy, time goes quicker.
“I had four weeks off [ahead of pre-season training] and to be honest that’s too much time for me, because in the last five or six years I didn’t have this sort of rest. But I’ve had plenty of rest and now I’m feeling really good. The best thing for me is to play because I love to play.”