Ex-Manchester United duo reunited for the first time since 2014 – when one ‘sealed the other’s exit’

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It’s always nice to see ex-Manchester United players linking back up after departing from the club.

We can name countless duos that have an iconic connection in Old Trafford folklore. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, Park Ji-Sung and Patrice Evra – the list goes on.

These players didn’t have just special relationships on the pitch – but also off. The reason they worked so well is they got on as humans – as well as footballers.

But this weekend, an Instagram post showed a previous United duo being reunited that you would just simply not expect.

Juan Mata and Shinji Kagawa reunited

It was a pair of creative midfielders Juan Mata and Shinji Kagawa who were reunited in a J-League encounter of all places.

It was Mata’s side Vissel Kobe who came out on top – although the Spaniard had little to do with the result, not managing a single minute and remaining on the bench.

Kagawa on the other hand played a full 90 minutes for Cerezo Osaka – but failed to make any impact on the fixture and ultimately lost.

This is the first time the pair have been involved in the same fixture since 2014 and the two also have a history – Mata essentially being brought in to replace Kagawa who was offered little opportunity at United under David Moyes.

Mata sealed Kagawa’s exit

Moyes’ signing of Mata ended Kagawa’s chances of succeeding at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson told German tabloid Bild back in 2014.

It was reported that the January signing of Mata essentially ‘sealed Shinji Kagawa’s United exit’ from the club.

No bad blood – the pair have a great relationship

But there is no bad blood. In fact – the pair are very good friends. This was shown in the message Mata sent to Kagawa via Instagram after the game.

“It was great to see you my friend, all the best for the rest of the season,” the message read.

The two are great blokes. Kagawa even became the first Asian player to join Mata in a common goal and give one per cent of their wages to charity back in 2017.

Arguably they didn’t live up to their potential at Old Trafford, but they’ll both be looked back on as fond players for United fans.