Matic: 'I don't have to prove' anything to Chelsea
Nemanja Matic is establishing himself as Manchester United's most important signing of the summer transfer window, but the Serbian midfielder will travel to Chelsea with humility.
On Wednesday, four days before United's Premier League visit to Chelsea, Matic asserted he has nothing to prove upon returning to Stamford Bridge and declared he doesn't care what reception he gets from supporters. The Red Devils signed the footballer from the Blues for a reported transfer fee of around £40 million, reuniting him with Jose Mourinho.
"I feel when I played there, I showed them my quality," Matic stated, according to the Guardian's Jamie Jackson. "We won the title twice and also two cups, so I don't have to prove to them anything. I just have to prove something to my new club." Regarding the reaction he may receive, he claimed: "I don't know. When I played there I always gave 100 percent. I'm sure they respect that but if not I don't really care."
In conversation with BBC Radio 5 live, Philip Neville referred to the decision to sell Matic as "the poorest decision I've seen in the Premier League," and called for Chelsea to sack the culprit. "When you've got Matic sat in front of you with (N'Golo) Kante, you have the best two central midfield players in the Premier League by a country mile," the former player said. He added: "I wouldn't have let him out the building. I'd have chained him to the training ground door and said you're not going anywhere."
United will travel to Chelsea boasting a four-point advantage over its rival in the standings.