Juan Mata is The Guardian’s Footballer of the Year – and we think it is a great choice

The Guardian announced Manchester United’s Juan Mata is the newspaper’s 2017 Footballer of the Year – an award that Mission 89 considers an excellent choice.

Mata made news in 2017 for his work with the Common Goal project that was launched in August, 2017. Mata and a growing number of footballers around the world donate 1% of their salaries to global charities.

The Manchester United midfielder has been joined by 35 other football people from 17 countries – the project now includes, beyond the players, its first manager, administrator and a startup. The players include Mats Hummels, Giorgio Chiellini, Shinji Kagawa, Kasper Schmeichel, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.

Mata said the inspiration for Common Goal came from seeing how teammates with diverse life experience worked together as a collective to reach their goal – winning the UEFA Champions League: “The way we had come together from all around the world to work for a common goal was more meaningful to me than the trophy. To me, that is something that can change the world for the better.”

“Football is more than a game,” says Mata. “Common Goal brings together these two levels of how football is understood. We have professional football but we also have a beautiful game, which, wherever you go, can be used as a social tool for change. Football has an unmatchable power.”