'Reunited' - Manchester United fans hail Juan Mata's classy moment with former teammate

Former Man United players Juan Mata and Shinji Kahawa shared a heart-warming moment after their J1-League sides Vissel Kobe and Cerezo Osaka played against each other

Manchester United supporters are reminiscing about what might have been for Juan Mata and Shinji Kagawa at Old Trafford after their reunion went viral on social media.

Mata signed for J1-League side Vissel Kobe during the transfer window and Kagawa - back in his homeland - has captained Cerezo Osaka since his dream return to Japan earlier this year. The two veterans went head-to-head in an important J1-League match on Sunday night.

But while Mata was an unused substitute for his new team, it was the ever-popular Spanish playmaker who was celebrating at the final whistle. Kobe won 1-0 to maintain their lead at the summit.

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Kagawa played 90 minutes in central midfield for their opponents but, for United supporters, the end result held little significance as they, instead, celebrated two former players on social media. It came after Mata and Kagawa enjoyed a heart-warming moment when the final whistle sounded.

The ever-classy Mata, 35, made a beeline for his former teammate and they continued to chat heading down the tunnel. Exactly what was said between the two was inaudible, but social media platforms X, and Instagram, went into meltdown when Kobe uploaded a short video clip.

Several comments hailing Mata and Kagawa as legends were published - but the main theme was their careers at Old Trafford were hampered by playing in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. Mata signed for United in 2014 and made 285 appearances for the club in all competitions - scoring 51 goals with 47 assists.

He won FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League medals during that time.

Kagawa, 34, was actually brought to the club by Sir Alex before his final season. However, the Japan icon was sold two years later after totting-up 57 games, six goals and 10 assists to go with one Premier League title.

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