Juan Mata has spoken of his time at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, saying that he 'never had a personal problem' with the manager.
The Spaniard fell out of favour under Mourinho at Stamford Bridge before being allowed to leave for a new challenge with Manchester United.
Coincidentally, the manager who had let him leave west London ended up following him to the north-west as he took the reins at Old Trafford.
But despite not enjoying the best relationship during their time at the Blues, Mata said that he was pleased with the professional approach taken by Mourinho when they were reunited for the first time at Carrington.
In an extract taken from his new book 'Juan Mata: Suddenly A Footballer', Mata said: "Despite the concern of my family, friends and many people, I was determined to face the situation as I’d always tried to: positively.
“Jose and I were together at Chelsea before, of course, and after having being together for six months, my career would take a different direction: Manchester.
“Yes, I didn’t enjoy as much playing time as I would have loved to or was used to during those six months, but I never had a personal problem with Jose.
“People assumed that the story would repeat itself. I was determined it wouldn’t. To do so, I focused, like many times during my career, on what I could control: my dedication, professionalism and commitment. Time would prove me right.
“If you ask me, yes, this is an aspect of my career that I’m very proud of, because, regardless of winning or losing, playing more or less, I didn’t take the easier way. I didn’t give up.
“The first conversation between Jose and me, which many were waiting for, thinking it could be the last, was as plain and normal as you can imagine.
“We didn’t make one single comment about the rumours. Nor did we discuss the past. He greeted me normally, in a manner befitting our relationship.
“We started to speak, in a very relaxed way, about Manchester, what the city was like to live in, holidays, even about a Barca match that we had both watched on television the previous day.
“There was no need to discuss what happened at Chelsea. Why would we have done so? I preferred letting my football speak for itself.
“Our relationship was - and always has been - normal, just like any other between player and manager.
“We spoke often, more often than when at Chelsea.”
Juan Mata is giving 99% of the proceeds from 'Juan Mata: Suddenly A Footballer' to support Common Goal which aims to unite the global football community in tackling the greatest social challenges of our time.
The book will be on sale from September 26.
