The diminutive midfield maestro was a starlet of the Real Madrid B squad, but never made a professional debut for the first team. Los Blancos never seemed to show much faith in Mata, allowing a release clause in his contract which sent him to rivals Valencia. He greatly impressed for his new club, scooping the team's Best Young Player award in his first season. Mata even scored against his former club (albeit in a SuperCup loss) and secured a big-money move to Chelsea. The rest is history, as he went on to pull the strings for the Blues en route to their 2012 Champions League triumph. He currently runs the show for Man United, and will surely be a key part of the club's attempted resurgence next season.
