Nemanja Matic has played over 700 games of football for club and country and he keeps going. Now at Lyon, the Serbian will be 37 in the summer having turned out for teams in seven different countries. He speaks almost as many languages.
“I remember him first coming to training with us,” recalls compatriot and former Manchester United team-mate Nemanja Vidic. “He wasn’t well known: he was playing with Kosice in Slovakia. He was tall, he had the longest legs and arms. So I was never going to forget him, but what struck me about him most — apart from him using his arms so much to play — was the way he tried to play the ball forward all the time.
“Most midfielders don’t do that, they play side to side, square passes. I liked him from that first session and he was amazing for many clubs. He gives teams experience and balance when he plays. He’s very professional, a good guy in the dressing room and is someone who loves football and is very proud of his region in Serbia.”
Ahead of interviewing Matic before his Lyon side play United in the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday, The Athletic spoke to others about him.
“No 6 is about decision making and covering space rather than being dragged out eager to win a ball,” said another former United player. “His massive size meant he could drop in and defend like a central defender, with long legs to intercept and make tackles. He was so calm in possession, brilliant at protecting the ball using his arms to hold up opponents and legs to block them. If his touch wasn’t perfect — and it usually was — he could break lines passing forward and switch play. Great lad, good leader.”
One of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s main regrets when he was manager at United was not starting Matic against Villarreal in the 2021 Europa League final, but the midfielder appeared in the 2023 Europa League final for Roma against Sevilla — and aims to do the same this year for Lyon.
Here, he tells The Athletic all about his career, including:
- Combining his love of sweets with still staying sharp at the age of 36
- Why he did not feel winning trophies was the focus at Manchester United
- The only thing Roman Abramovich would ask him about at Chelsea
- His relationship with Jose Mourinho and why the Premier League needs him back
- His most difficult opponent
- The importance of Thursday’s Europa League game with United to Lyon
You’re nearly 37 years old and playing in the midfield of a top team in a top league. What’s your secret?
This interview has got off to a bad start (smiles). Yes, I know I’m almost 37, but I feel great. I don’t feel that I’m so old and that’s the most important thing. There’s no secret, I try to be professional, but it’s not only that. It’s more about how you think — how you wake up, how you approach life. I’m always positive and that’s probably my secret.
What does ‘professional’ mean? Your diet, your lifestyle?
Definitely not my diet. I’m a poor example. I like sweets — all kinds of sweets — but all of us must have a weakness. I try to train well and with intelligence. I can’t train like when I was 20, but I don’t need to train like that. Maybe I run less than before, but I’m also smarter than before. I also try to sleep on time and to sleep well, even though I have three children and sleep isn’t easy. And I must combine my job as a footballer with my job as a taxi driver for my kids. One of my jobs is paid, one isn’t.
I’m already ready in the head for what every day brings. If you’re not ready, you can’t play and being professional is not enough. You also change as you age.
Describe your game.
You need to have everything to play at this level, or the Premier League. You need to be good with and without the ball, to read the game well. My best quality is that I make the players around me better. I’ve done that at every club I’ve played at. People can’t always see that, but the clubs where I’ve played have.
Matic says his game is to improve those around him (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
I appreciate that people appreciate me and those in football know what I do on the pitch. I think I know how to read my team-mates, when to play the ball and how to use their quality and hide their weakness.
How is life in Lyon and why were you at Rennes for only one season?
We had some difficulties with the kids in school. I was told there was an international school before I signed there. We needed that because our kids grew up in England and needed to learn in English, but we realised that it was a French school. We tried to adapt for four, five months but saw that it was difficult. Our kids didn’t speak French, so we found a solution with Lyon. I speak different languages: Serbian, Slovakian, Portuguese, English, Italian and Spanish. I played in most of those countries. I’m picking up some French now. I will learn it, I promise, but for our children we felt it was better for them to be educated in the language they were used to.
It’s an amazing city, Lyon. Not too big, not too small. Perfect for the family. The club is great with good organisation. The league is very difficult and like the Premier League in terms of the intensity and physical side. Of course, the Premier League has more quality players but it’s not easy to play in this league. There’s a lot of good clubs in France who do well in European competition. Being here is a good experience.
How did you feel when Lyon drew Manchester United in the Europa League?
The atmosphere will be amazing, the stadium is very good. People can expect a very good game. We have a lot of good, experienced, players here, a big squad. Of course, Rayan Cherki is someone who a lot of clubs are watching, an amazing talent who can decide a game in one movement. Alex Lacazette is here, who many people know. It will be hard for United and the Europa League is very important for both clubs.
Matic after United’s defeat in the 2021 Europa League final (Photo: Mikolaj Barbanell/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Here, we’re trying to reach our space in the top three in Ligue 1 so that we can play Champions League next season — that’s where Lyon became famous around the world and we want to get back there — but we could do that by winning the Europa League.
It’s a big game. The fans will be loud here. The fans are different to England. To get the same support that you get in the Premier League in France, you need good results. In England, I’ve seen a team get relegated in the Premier League and still get clapped by the fans because they felt the players gave everything.
Like Manchester United, Lyon have had some of your best results in the Europa League this season, including a 4-1 win at Rangers. Why?
Because the competition in Ligue 1 is so tough. We beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at home and I saw someone say, ‘Lyon had an amazing game against one of the best teams in Germany’. Well, I didn’t feel that on the pitch. We face much better teams in our league, the five or six top sides. Obviously PSG, but I wasn’t surprised that Brest did well in the Champions League group stage. Lille were seventh in the Champions League group of 32 teams and had excellent results before losing 2-3 to Dortmund. Monaco did well — four teams in the Champions League.
You played more games for United than for any other club in your career – 189. How do you look back at your five years at Old Trafford?
We did our best every single year, the players, the coaches. In my first year, we finished second. We were leading in January but Man City won. We finished second, sixth, third, second and sixth. We played in the Europa League, Super Cup and FA Cup finals. We played Champions League in four of my five seasons. But we didn’t win.
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. We gave it our best and sometimes we’d get criticised, but I didn’t see any major problems in the club. The organisation was very good, the conditions perfect.
Matic feels there was a trophy culture at Chelsea that was not replicated at United (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The difference I felt after Chelsea was that, at Chelsea, everything was about the result and winning trophies. That was the spirit in the whole club, even from the man who cuts the grass. Roman Abramovich would only ask us about results. At United, it was more commercial-minded. I started to think that after a couple of months in the club. I understand that our salary needs to be paid, 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.
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 was my feeling inside.
Solskjaer said he loved a midfield of you, Scott McTominay and Fred: “Proper professionals who give it everything.” But he also said that he made a mistake not starting you in the 2021 Europa League final against Villarreal in Gdansk, since that game was made for you.
Yes, he told me that. He was not wrong but I also felt we deserved to win that game anyway. Now, from this distance, people realise more that Ole was good for the club, but it wasn’t just him. Kieran McKenna was an excellent coach, Michael Carrick and Martyn Pert too. Darren Fletcher was close to us also. They all had an amazing chemistry and I’m sorry they didn’t have more chance at the club, but football is like this.
What were your low and high points at United?
I scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Man City (in 2020) and Pep mentioned me a lot after that, which was good to hear. I played many games against his side for Chelsea and United.
I scored a winner at Crystal Palace in the last minute (in March 2018), but there was another game at Man City when we were losing 2-0 at half time (in April 2018). They planned to celebrate winning the title that day. At half-time, Jose (Mourinho) said to us: ‘Listen guys, they are ready to make the party and they want us to be the clowns. We don’t want to be clowns’. We scored three times and won 3-2.
Matic enjoyed playing under Mourinho (Photo: should read FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
We also beat City just before Covid at Old Trafford. Scott (McTominay) scored an amazing goal starting from the middle of the pitch.
The low point was when any coach got sacked. I felt part of the responsibility when Jose and Ole got sacked. You can play good and bad in games, this is sport, but when people lose their jobs I feel bad, very bad.
Your two Premier League titles at Chelsea came alongside very different central midfield partners (Cesc Fabregas and N’Golo Kante). How did the dynamic work for each and which did you prefer?
In 2015, I played mostly with Cesc, in 2017 it was more alongside N’Golo with Cesc in front. I liked it with both. Cesc was a maestro with the ball, giving the final pass. N’Golo — more passing, defensive midfielders who win the ball and break up the opposing attacks as soon as possible and pass to the maestros in front, Cesc, Oscar, Pedro, (Eden) Hazard, these guys.
With Cesc I had to be worried more about defensive things to cover because he would attack, I had to bring more balance in front of the defensive line. With N’Golo, we had a deal: he watched left, I watched right. I had to run less with N’Golo. I felt amazing with both.
Who was it most difficult to play against?
Yaya Toure. He was a machine. When I signed the second time for Chelsea in January (2014), I made my debut versus Man Utd at home, playing only a few minutes. My first starting game was against Man City in Manchester against Yaya Toure. He was the best player in the Premier League at that moment, he’d score every game. He was strong with a very good technique when he had the ball. He was surprisingly fast too. People thought he was like me, clumpy running with the ball, but he was fast. I walked out and saw that he was like two metres.
But you’re significantly taller than him.
Yes, but he looked bigger in real life than on TV. It was my first start in the Premier League against this giant, but it was also a nice chance to show myself. I had no choice; I had to kill him. We won 1-0 — (Branislav) Ivanovic. I was man of the match. Yaya didn’t know me and maybe he didn’t expect that. But in the games after he knew me and always made sure he did his best. I always knew that I had to have a perfect game versus Yaya Toure.
Matic says Toure was his toughest opponent (Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
You’ve mentioned Mourinho a few times and you’ll always be linked with him. How would you describe him to someone who knows nothing about football?
He was the Special One. He has something different to other people and such a strong connection with the players. I can’t explain him in one answer, I’d need to make a full movie talking about him. I have so many stories about him.
Tell us one.
Well, this isn’t good for me, but we were playing against a team lower in the table at home and it was 0-0 at half time. We were playing badly. He came into the dressing room and started looking around. Instinct told me that he was searching for me. He was. I can’t repeat what he said, it is not fit to repeat. But at the same time, I knew that he wanted the best from me. I knew him well and what he wanted. If you don’t know him well, then you can have a big problem with him.
I felt that he liked me and respected me. The feeling was mutual and if you had good results, life was perfect. He’d give you as many days off as you wanted, but you had to give him back on the pitch.
He was in the news again this week in Turkey after Fenerbahce v Galatasaray.
He makes headlines wherever he goes and football without him is not the same; the Premier League is better with Jose in it. He’s exactly what the league is missing; some club needs to sign him. He’s box-office.
What did you think of Rodri winning the Ballon d’Or? Are the taller, more physical midfield technicians finally getting their spotlight?
Well deserved and I was happy for him because he plays my position. Defensive midfielders – especially him – didn’t get enough credit. He has now. Man City supporters now realise how important he is. He’s worth 30 points – or 30 per cent extra for each player. Rodri brings the best out of his team-mates. He slows the game down when needed and passes quickly when needed. I knew Man City would struggle without him, but I’m happy people appreciate how important he is.
What’s the future for you? Do you still have your team in Serbia with your brother?
Yes and we’re in trouble. We were promoted to the Premier League, rising from the fourth division to the top in eight years. We’ve done well with an academy and young players so it’s going in the right direction.
I’m doing my coaching badges and I’ve finished my (UEFA) B Licence in Serbia. Now I’m doing my A Licence in England. I’d like to coach in the future and think I have the capacity to be a good manager.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)