MELBOURNE, Australia -- Former Chelsea and Manchester United star Juan Mata has told ESPN that while his current focus is Melbourne Victory, he is open to investing in the A-League in the future after exploring buying into multiple clubs over the offseason.
Swapping Western Sydney Wanderers for Victory in September in search of increased playing time, Mata recorded his first start and goal for his new side over the weekend, helping them record a 2-0 win over Perth Glory.
A FIFA World Cup winner with Spain, Mata will now get a first taste of a Melbourne Derby this Saturday, when his new side hosts crosstown foes Melbourne City, a club part of the City Football Group that also owns his former rivals Manchester City.
"It doesn't matter where the derby is," Mata told ESPN. "In Sydney, Melbourne, in Japan, in Spain, in England. It's always a special game in the calendar for many fans. I'm looking forward to it."
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Victory, though, wasn't the only Australian club that Mata was linked with during the offseason, just not in a playing sense. Reports linked the 37-year-old to purchasing a stake in struggling Central Coast Mariners before signing at AAMI Park, as well as becoming part of the league's attempts to place a men's licence in Canberra.
"I explored investing in the A-League," Mata told ESPN. "I had some conversations with different clubs and the league. And I'm still open for that. I really believe that there are important things in Australia, for football, that can grow.
"I understand the financial challenges that the league is facing, and the clubs. And I see that the only way is up. If I can contribute in any form to the development and the growth of that, I will do it happily, because I think it's it will be very good for Australian fans to go to the games in the A-League and not only follow football from afar.
"I have the feeling that so many people follow football here, but they follow the Premier League or the Spanish league, right? And it's tough with the time difference. So hopefully that love for the game can be translated into growing numbers for the A-League.
"So yes, I have been [interested in investing] and I'm still open to that. But it's not my priority. My priority is to, you know, to play [for Victory]."
Mata has already waded into the world of club ownership, becoming the first active international player, and just the second international player after David Beckham, to become involved in MLS when he was announced as part of the ownership group of expansion franchise San Diego FC while still a member of the Wanderers last year.
Under the guidance of former USMNT assistant Mikey Varas, San Diego topped the MLS' Western Conference in their first year in the competition in 2025 and will face the Portland Timbers in a winner-takes-all game three of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
"It's very important to have a plan," Mata said when asked what he wanted to see as an investor. "I think it's very important to have a plan with common sense and to actually make decisions and take steps towards that plan.
"I really think that in the future, I don't know how many years that will take, but I think the A-League will be better. I think the clubs will have more financial freedom to make different decisions, because at the moment, many of the clubs don't have the financials, so they have to make decisions short-term.
"So ideally, there is a point at which clubs and the A-League can make a medium-long-term plan and go towards it. And I think that will be a differential change."
It's understood that a Canberran side remains the focus for league officials and that they remain seeking investment. News Corp, meanwhile, has reported that Sydney Olympic president Damon Hanlin has stepped in to fund the Mariners, which club chief executive Greg Brownlow has labelled "speculation."