Spanish playmaker Mata, 31, joined United in 2014 for a then club record transfer fee of 37.1 million pounds ($46.86 million) from league rivals Chelsea.
Images from Saturday's action in the Premier League.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Russia welcomed the world to the soccer World Cup on Thursday as fans streamed in, the hosts savoured a 5-0 victory on the pitch and President Vladimir Putin's government derided Western efforts to isolate him.
England became only the sixth team to end a European qualifying campaign with a 100 percent record when they beat Lithuania 3-0 in their final Group E match on Monday.
Manchester United replaced Manchester City as Premier League leaders with Wayne Rooney ending an 11-match run without a league goal in his side's comfortable 3-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 victory over promoted Watford as champions Chelsea suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Juergen Klopp refused to dwell on the two late goals they conceded in a 5-2 win over AS Roma in their Champions League semi-final, first leg on Tuesday, saying his team had been 'perfect' for 80 minutes.
The Champions League quarter-final between Liverpool and Manchester City is one of the most anticipated games of the season pitting the Premier League's runaway leaders against the top scorers in Europe's elite competition.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was sent off for the second time in a month on Sunday as the controversial coach watched his side draw 1-1 at home to West Ham United and lose more ground in the English Premier League title race.
A summary of Saturday's matches in the Premier League.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday night
According to the World Health Organisation, 10 candidate vaccines for COVID-19 are in the clinical evaluation and 126 are in the pre-clinical stage.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Sam Allardyce was sacked as England manager on Tuesday having behaved "inappropriately" when seeking a lucrative sideline role while talking to undercover reporters, bringing a crushing end to his dream job after one match and 67 days in charge.
Kevin De Bruyne, Kelechi Iheanacho, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan gave Man City a 4-0 win over Bournemouth before Nolito was sent off.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday
Romelu Lukaku scored twice to earn Belgium a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday, lifting the mood in the country after a week marred by match-fixing allegations.
Villa's chief executive Christian Purslow said 10 first-team players are among 14 positive cases of coronavirus at the club.
Here are talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
In playing terms, both are the leaders of their teams but they take very different approaches to their role. While Bale is widely acclaimed as an inspiration for his national team, Ronaldo's influence on Portugal is the subject of debate. Gareth Bale is constantly encouraging his team mates and is described by his manager as "the most down-to-earth boy you could meet."
He does not fit the bill for a prototype Mourinho midfielder. He lacks defensive attributes because he has no pace, is weak in the air, cannot tackle and is heavily reliant on his left foot.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
How they strategised, motivated and led their teams to victory.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
The Argentine scores a hat-trick to become the highest foreign goal scorer in the Premier League on Sunday. Also, in bagging a 12th Premier League hat-trick he surpassed the 11 of Alan Shearer with whom he had shared the record.
Manchester City tightened their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday by trouncing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 as nearest rivals Manchester United suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
The victory takes Pep Guardiola's side into provisional second spot
Aston Villa were crushed 6-1 by Southampton but joined Leicester City in celebrating Premier League survival on Saturday while Steven Gerrard's farewell party was spoiled as Liverpool lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace.
England's Adam Lallana scored his first international goal with the last kick of the game as they beat 10-man Slovakia 1-0 in their World Cup Group F qualifier on Sunday to get new manager Sam Allardyce's reign off to a winning start.
Liverpool a dramatic 2-1 victory over Leicester City at Anfield, thus maintaining the league leaders' 100 per cent start
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is willing to put his Champions League ambitions on the back-burner to help the Merseyside club claim their first English league crown in 29 years, the Egyptian forward has said.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Norma Godinho has just about caught her breath after all the action at SW19 on Super Sunday. Here are Norma's memorable moments from this year's Wimbledon.
Images from the men's singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Photos and summary of the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday, including the story of Chelsea's resurgent win
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