Jose Mourinho says it was hard to sell Juan
Mata to Manchester United , and is "so
sorry" he could not keep the midfielder
happy at Chelsea.
Mata was named as the club's player of the
season in 2012 and 2013, but fell out of
favour under Mourinho and completed a
£37.1 million move to Old Trafford on
Saturday.
The Stamford Bridge boss has opted to play
Oscar - who scored the only goal of the
game in an FA Cup win against Stoke on
Sunday - instead, and thinks Mata deserves
to play regular first-team football.
"These are decisions a manager has to
make, but for me it was a hard decision,"
Mourinho told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I'd love
to have him in my squad, absolutely.
"But to have a player in this situation is
hard. He deserves that Chelsea open the
door for him.
"I like people to be happy. I'm so sorry I
couldn't make him happy in this squad -
I'm so sad with that, but I build my team
around Oscar playing as my No.10."
Mourinho expects Mata to receive a warm
reception from the Chelsea fans when he
eventually returns to Stamford Bridge as a
Manchester United player.
He added: "He's very classy. I think he's a
player that stays in the fans' hearts and
also in those of his colleagues.
"I'm just with him six months and I like
him a lot. Imagine the people who have
been with him for three years. He stays in
the club history - he won important
trophies and people loved him.
"He will come here with a Manchester
United shirt on one day and the people will
show him that."
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