• Premier League

Mata breaks ranks to thank Moyes

Juan Mata has become the first Manchester United player to publicly thank David Moyes following the manager's sacking last Tuesday.

Mata was signed by Moyes for a club record £37.1 million in January and is one of only two players the Scot brought to Old Trafford during his terrible 10-month tenure.

With the exception of new interim player-manager Ryan Giggs, United players have said very little publicly about their former manager and his time at the club. Rio Ferdinand insisted the players must share some of the blame for United's dismal campaign, but Mata is the first to acknowledge the Scot's efforts.

Writing his official blog, Mata said: "I don't want to forget that, since the beginning of the week, David Moyes is no longer our manager," Mata said. "I wish him and his technical staff the best of luck in the future and I thank him for his continuous interest in me and his importance during my transfer to become a Manchester United player."

Giggs took over from Moyes for the remaining four games of the season, although it is understood the club have held meaningful talks about the role with Louis van Gaal, who is keen to finalise a deal as quickly as possible.

Mata added he was pleased to see his team-mates reward United legend Giggs with a 4-0 victory against Norwich in the Welshman's first game in charge, but admitted the first season at his new club had been a "tough" one.

"It was Ryan Giggs' first game as a manager after plenty of years of success on the pitch and the truth is everything went well," Mata said. "Our fans deserve that. They deserve scores like this one because, in this tough season, they have gone home with a downcast face too many times. So that's what we are going to try [to change] in the remaining games."

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