“Trophies Were Not The Focus”: Nemanja Matic Opens Up On Chelsea And Manchester United’s Difference In Mentality

Serbian International Nemanja Matic has amassed over 700 appearances in his career across various clubs however his most memorable years were in the Premier League playing at Manchester United and Chelsea. Matic is a defensive midfielder and has played 189 times for Manchester United across all competitions and 154 times for Chelsea across all competitions. Currently, Matic is 37 years old and is now playing in Ligue 1 for Lyon.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Nemanja Matic opened up about his years at Manchester United and Chelsea and what was the difference in mentality between the two clubs. Matic laid an emphasis on how the mentality and the focus were different at both clubs.

Nemanja Matic On The Work Culture Difference Between Chelsea And Manchester United

Recently Matic sat down with the Athletic and opened up about his years at Manchester United and Chelsea. Matic stated that the team gave their best every single year and the coaching staff backed them as well throughout. He talked about their rankings in each season stating that Manchester United managed to finish second during his first year there and then sixth, third, second, and sixth. The central midfielder emphasized a lot on how Manchester United cannot be happy finishing second and have to be winning titles constantly. He further emphasized on this stating “If I compare how we did with United now, then we did great, but of course, United cannot be happy finishing second. United need to be winning leagues”.

After this Matic spoke on his years at Chelsea and compared the culture with that of Manchester United’s. He said that the spirit of winning trophies was embedded deep in the club. Even the former owner himself Roman Abramovich focused solely on results and trophies. He then compared this culture to Manchester United where the Red Devils focused more on commercial-minded goals rather than trophies and results. He further emphasized this stating “I understand that our salary needs to be paid and revenue has to be generated, but I felt that the results were not the focus like it was at Chelsea. I maybe did two commercial jobs at Chelsea, at United it was far more.

Nemanja Matic said that he came to Manchester United with a drive and motivation to win trophies like he had at Chelsea but gradually he realized that the situation was different there. He further stated that ” I arrived at United with the anger to win trophies like I had at Chelsea, but step by step I started to feel that trophies were not the focus. Maybe I’m not right, but that is what I feel inside.”

Current Position Of Chelsea And Manchester United In The 2024-2025 Season

Chelsea are currently fourth in the 2024-2025 Premier League season with seven more matches left. As of now if they manage to win their next three to four matches, they will certainly secure a UEFA Champions League spot. As for the Conference League, Chelsea won all of their matches in the league stage and are set to face Legia Warszawa in the quarter-finals. Although Chelsea are not in a great place right now considering their history, they are very likely to return to UCL football and even contend for the Premier League title next season onwards.

Manchester United on the other hand have fallen from grace and have failed to reach the elite standards which they used to have. The Red Devils are currently closer to the relegation zone than to the top four signifying the massive downfall of the club. Currently, Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League with 38 points and although it is difficult they will have to win their remaining PL fixtures to secure a UEL spot via finishing in the top six. Although Manchester United are in poor form in the Premier League, they have been performing well in the UEFA Europa League this season. The Red Devils are unbeaten in the UEL this season finishing third in the league stage winning five matches and drawing three matches. They then proceeded to beat Real Sociedad 5-2 over two legs on aggregate in the Round Of 16 stage and will face Nemanja Matic’s Lyon in the quarter-finals.