Nemanja Matic’s move from Chelsea to Manchester United is one of the strangest transfers of the summer.
Having won two Premier League titles in three years at Stamford Bridge, his switch to United was sanctioned by Chelsea last month, although it soon became clear that this happened without the blessing of manager, Antonio Conte.
After a man of the match performance on his home debut for United last weekend, Matic has revealed that the opportunity to play under Jose Mourinho again proved to be a key factor in his desire to head to Old Trafford.
“He [Mourinho] was very important for me,” Matic told Sky Sports.
“He bought me to Chelsea from Benfica and now when I decided to come to Manchester, he was a reason to come here.”
This, however, wasn’t the only reason for his departure from Chelsea.
“Mourinho was the reason and so was the club, Manchester United. You don’t need to think a lot about if you are going to come. My decision was very quick and very clear.”
Then asked if United were the biggest club he’d played for, Matic didn’t hesitate:
“Definitely, everyone knows what Manchester United is about.
“When you say Manchester United, it is different. Also Chelsea is a big club, Benfica are the biggest club in Portugal. But Manchester is Manchester.
“When I came here for the first day, I could feel that the people at the club help you every day if you need something and supporters are very important for this club.
“After every training session, they are waiting for us outside the training ground to take pictures, to get a signature so I think the club is one of the biggest in the world.
“Maybe you have two or three clubs similar to United, but Manchester is one of the biggest clubs in the world for sure.”
We can safely say that Matic has no regrets over leaving Chelsea, then.
