Juan Mata delivered a glowing tribute to the Club upon receiving the Victory Medal (ALM), presented by Turkish Airlines.
The Spanish World Cup champion was the big winner as Melbourne Victory celebrated the successes of the 2025/26 season on Monday night.
Mata was awarded Sidelink Transport Goal of the Season (ALM) for his Round 18 blockbuster against Melbourne City before collecting AGL Players’ Player (ALM).
He signed off the occasion by being crowned the Victory medallist, topping the ‘3-2-1’ voting system thanks to a campaign that featured a playmaker’s contribution of 13 assists and five goals.
Speaking at the Palladium at Crown, Mata, with customary humility, reflected on a season of unmatched enjoyment.
“I’m really grateful for the atmosphere and the energy that you created throughout the whole year. It’s a season that I will always remember. I enjoyed it so much.
“I cannot remember the last time that I enjoyed football for such a long time. So thank you to our fans and last but not least, to my family.”
Mata’s address also featured extensive tributes to those who have supported him before and during his first term at Victory.
“Thank you, my friend (Fahid Ben Khalfallah), also, thank you to our super CEO, Caroline (Carnegie), to everyone at the Club, to JD (John Didulica) and to Arthur (Diles) – I will come to him later, but when I had my first call with Caroline and with JD, I could feel that this club was different, that this club has different values. That cares about the human side of people, not only about the professional or the football side.
“I knew that this was the right place for me to carry on with my career. So thank you to Caroline, thank you to JD and everyone that is part of the Board for creating a context, for creating an environment in which I could enjoy my football.
“Thank you to Arthur. Our first call, I remember I was in Valencia in Spain, enjoying my summer, not sure about what I wanted to do, but I had a feeling that I wanted to come back to Australia, that I wanted to keep playing football and doing it in this country. We had a conversation, and after the conversation, I was sure that I wanted to play for him. You made me enjoy football again.”
Watch Mata’s full Victory Medal speech below.
