Nemanja Matić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Матић, ; born 1 August 1988) is a Serbian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

club

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. Starting his career as an attacking midfielder, Matić shifted to a defensive midfielder during his spell at Benfica. He is known for his consistent performances on the pitch and his combative style of play. Matić began his senior career at

Kolubara The Kolubara ( sr-cyr, Колубара, ) is a long river in western Serbia; it is an eastern, right tributary to the Sava river. General overview Kolubara is formed by the two small rivers Obnica and Jablanica. ''Obnica'' is the river in W ...

, before joining Slovak side

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

in 2007. He moved to English club

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

for £1.5 million in 2009. Used sparingly during his first spell at the club, he spent the 2010–11 season on loan at Dutch club Vitesse, and in the summer of 2011, he moved to Benfica as part of a swap deal involving

David Luiz David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo. Primarily a centre back, he can also be deployed as a defensive midfielder. After starting out at Vitoria, David Luiz moved to B ...

. He won the Primeira Liga Player of the Year award for his performances in the 2012–13 season. Matić returned to Chelsea in January 2014, for £21 million. He was named in the

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

for the 2014–15 season. In July 2017, he was reunited with former Chelsea manager

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...

after signing for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Matić represented Serbia at under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in 2008 and scored twice in 48 appearances. He was part of Serbia's squad at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

Club career

Early career

Matić was born in

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...

, SR Serbia. He began playing football at age five with FK Vrelo from the eponymous

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, coached by his own father. He began his senior career at

, before signing for Slovak club

in 2007. While living in the country, he also received Slovak citizenship.

Chelsea

On 18 August 2009, Matić signed for

from Košice for a fee of around £1.5 million on a four-year contract, having been on trial at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He was given the number 24 shirt by Chelsea but was not able to make his debut immediately due to the injury he picked up at the

2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006–07 compe ...

. He was on the bench for Chelsea's

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

match against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

on 23 September 2009, but did not take any part in the 1–0 victory. Matić made his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

debut for Chelsea on 21 November, coming on as a substitute for

Florent Malouda Florent Johan Malouda (born 13 June 1980) is a French football coach and former professional player. A left winger, he spent most of his career at Lyon and Chelsea, winning four consecutive Ligue 1 titles with the former and the UEFA Champions ...

in the 69th minute in a 4–0 win over

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. On 23 August 2010, Matić transferred to

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club Vitesse on a one-year loan, together with teammates

Slobodan Rajković Slobodan Rajković ( sr-cyr, Слободан Рајковић, ; born 3 February 1989) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Hungarian club MTK Budapest. Club career Born in Belgrade, Rajković started his career ...

and

Matej Delač Matej Delač (; born 20 August 1992) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Danish 1st Division club Horsens. Club career Inter Zaprešić A product of Inter Zaprešić youth academy, Delač started to impress ver ...

Benfica

On 31 January 2011, Matić agreed to join Portuguese club Benfica in the summer of 2011, as part of a deal for Chelsea to sign Brazilian centre-back

. Under Benfica manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 12 ...

, Matić was converted from a

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

into a defensive midfielder. On 14 April 2012, Matić started for Benfica in the 2012 Taça da Liga Final against

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

, where he won his first trophy with the

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

-based club. On 13 January 2013, Matić scored Benfica's first goal in a 2–2 draw with ''

O Clássico O Clássico ("The Classic") is the name given in football to matches between Portuguese clubs S.L. Benfica and FC Porto. Originally, the term ''O Clássico'' only referred to games played in the league, but now tends to include matches that tak ...

'' rivals

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. The next day, he was awarded with a contract extension lasting until 2018, with the buyout clause set at €45 million. In the second leg of Benfica's Europa League round of 32 tie against

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

, Matić headed in a late goal after a cross from

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

to seal a 3–1 aggregate victory. Matić was an integral member throughout the

2012–13 Primeira Liga The 2012–13 Primeira Liga (also known as Liga ZON Sagres for sponsorship reasons) was the 79th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. It began on 19 August 2012 and concluded on 19 M ...

campaign as Benfica looked to claim the club's first league championship since

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Going into the penultimate game of the season against Porto, both teams were undefeated in league play, but a stoppage-time winner from substitute

Kelvin The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...

gave Porto a 2–1 victory. On 15 May, Matić faced former employers Chelsea in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

final in Amsterdam but was on the losing side as Benfica fell to a 2–1 defeat, courtesy of a last minute Branislav Ivanović header. On 4 July 2013, he was named Primeira Liga Player of the Year after having won the monthly award three times over the course of the season. In the 2013–14 season, Matić played half of the season, with 22 matches and 3 goals, he helped Benfica to win the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

and

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

. On 13 January 2014, Matić placed second in the 2013

FIFA Puskás Award The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the male or female judged to have scored the mo ...

Return to Chelsea

On 15 January 2014, Matić rejoined Chelsea for a fee of £21 million (€25M), on a five-and-a-half-year contract. He made his second debut for the club four days later, replacing Willian in a 3–1 win against

. On 3 February, Matić made his first

start in Chelsea's fixture away at championship rivals

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. He was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

as Chelsea ended City's unbeaten run at the City of Manchester Stadium with a 1–0 win. Matić scored his first Premier League goal on 30 August 2014, in a 6–3 win at Everton. A month later, Matić scored the only goal as Chelsea won away at

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

in the group stage of the Champions League; on 5 November in the same competition, his goal earned Chelsea a 1–1 draw at

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

. Matić was given a straight red card in Chelsea's 1–1 home draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on 21 February 2015, for pushing over Ashley Barnes following a high tackle by him, which resulted in the bending of Matić's shin. On appeal, his suspension was shortened to two matches, including the League Cup Final. On 26 April 2015, Matić was named as one of four midfielders in the

, alongside teammate

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered o ...

. Four more Chelsea players were included in the selection. On 12 September 2015, Matić scored his first goal of the 2015–16 Premier League season against Everton, but it was not enough to save Chelsea from a 3–1 loss. Matić was sent off for two yellow cards in the first half of Chelsea's 2–1 loss at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

on 24 October 2015. For the majority of the 2016–17 Premier League season, Matić played as a central midfielder in a 3–4–3 formation. He scored the 4th goal in Chelsea's 4–2 FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur on 22 April 2017. On 8 May 2017, he scored his first ever goal at Stamford Bridge, in a 3–0 victory over

Manchester United

On 30 July 2017, a photo was leaked of Matić wearing a Manchester United training kit printed with the number 31 vacated by

Bastian Schweinsteiger Bastian Schweinsteiger (; born 1 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who usually played as a central midfielder. Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder. Schweinsteiger is regarded as one of the grea ...

the previous March, fuelling rumours that Matić was on the verge of a reunion with former Chelsea manager

. Manchester United confirmed the deal the next day, with Matić signing a three-year contract with an option for an extra year, for a fee reported to be in the region of £40 million. Two days after signing, he made his first appearance in a friendly against

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

, finishing in a 2–1 win over the Italian side. On 13 August 2017, Matić made his league debut in a 4–0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford, in which he was named Man of the Match. On 5 March 2018, Matić scored his first goal for the club with a half-volley in a 3–2 comeback win over

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

after being 2–0 down. The goal was later voted Manchester United goal of the season. During the boxing day matches of the

2018–19 Premier League The 2018–19 Premier League was the 27th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 120th season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

, Matić scored his first goal of the season and his second for Manchester United in a 3–1 win over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

. On 29 January 2020, Matić scored the only goal in a 1–0

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

win; however he was also

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

during the game which United lost 3–2 on aggregate. On 17 March 2020, Manchester United announced that they would be triggering a clause in Matić's contract to extend it by another year rather than allowing it to expire in the summer of 2020, keeping him at the club for a fourth year. On 6 July 2020, Matić signed a new three-year contract with the club, securing his future until 2023. On 15 April 2022, Matić announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.

Roma

On 14 June 2022, it was announced that Matić had agreed to join

on a one-year contract, following the expiry of his Manchester United contract. On 14 August, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute, in a 1–0 away win against

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

in the Serie A.

International career

Matić's debut for the Serbia under-21 team came in a match against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on 11 October 2008. After three matches and two goals for the Serbia under-21 squad, he was called up to the Serbian senior squad and made his debut in a friendly against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on 14 December 2008, in a 1–0 loss. He played in the

Cyprus International Football Tournament The Cyprus International Football Tournament was an annual winter association football friendly competition for national teams that takes place in Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of C ...

in 2009 where Serbia made it to the final. Matić took part in the 2009 UEFA Euro Under-21 Championship, where he played 85 minutes in the first group match against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in a 0–0 draw. Matić, however, injured himself after contact with Italian forward

Sebastian Giovinco Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile forward capable of playing in multiple offensive positions. Gio ...

. He broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot and was forced to undergo surgery. In December 2012, Matić announced he would not play for the Serbian national team while

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional Footballer, football player and Football coach (association football), manager. During his career as a football ...

was the coach. The reason he gave for this decision is that he felt he was not given the right opportunity by the coach not playing a single minute in his last five call-ups. On 6 September 2013, Matić returned to his national team on a

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

match against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, being

in the 75th minute. He scored his first international goal on 29 March 2015, in a

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...

match away to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, its ...

, equalising via an

overhead kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

, albeit in a 2–1 defeat. On 11 October, in a loss against the same opponents by the same score at the

Partizan Stadium The Partizan Stadium (Serbian language, Serbian: Стадион Партизанa / ''Stadion Partizana'') is a association football, football and track-and-field Multi-purpose stadium, stadium in Autokomanda, Belgrade, Serbia. The home ground of ...

, Matić received a straight red card within a minute of teammate

Aleksandar Kolarov Aleksandar Kolarov (; born 10 November 1985) is a Serbian former professional footballer. Although primarily a left-back, Kolarov could also operate as a centre-back and anywhere along the left flank and was known for his overlapping attacking r ...

's dismissal. Ser-Swi (27)

In June 2018, he was selected in the Serbian squad for the 2018 World Cup, playing all three group stage matches. On 28 August 2020, the

Football Association of Serbia The Football Association of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски савез Србије, ФСС / ) is the governing body of football in Serbia, based in Belgrade. It organizes Serbian football leagues, namely the Serbian Superliga, the Serbia n ...

announced that he had retired from international football; he made 48 appearances and scored two goals for Serbia. He earned his final cap against

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

on 10 September 2019.

Style of play

A left-footed

, Matić's poise and power, in addition to his in-game intelligence and tactical awareness, have enabled his attacking teammates to flourish. He is often used at a holding position and screens the defence while providing cover for attacking movements. Just before he joined Manchester United, he had a tackle success rate of 75% in 123 Premier League appearances, a higher rate than

N'Golo Kante Ngolo, N'Golo, or NGolo may refer to: Geography * N'Goloblasso, town in Ivory Coast * N'Golobougou, commune in Mali * N'Golodiana, commune in Mali * N'golofesso, village in Burkina Faso * N'Golonianasso, commune in Mali * Ngolo River, river ...

Ander Herrera Ander Herrera Agüera (; born 14 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He began his career at Real Zaragoza, before moving ...

, Fernandinho and

Jordan Henderson Jordan Brian Henderson (born 17 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool and the England national team. Henderson joined the Sunderland Academy at the age of eight, making his first-team ...

commented on Matić, "At this moment, he is a giant, not for his size but for the way he plays." Matić's qualities have led to comparison to his ex-teammate at Manchester United,

Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently head coach of Middlesbrough. He is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time and is best known for his 12-year p ...

. Prior to joining Benfica, he played as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

, before being shifted to a holding midfield role.

Personal life

Matić's younger brother, Uroš, is also a professional

, playing for

Abha Club Abha Football Club () is a professional Saudi Arabian association football club based in Abha that is currently playing in the Saudi Professional League, the highest tier of Saudi football. Their home stadium is Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stad ...

, a team in Saudi Arabia. Matić is of partial Macedonian descent as his maternal grandfather is from Volkovija. Matić has three children with his wife, Aleksandra. Matić has admired former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane from an early age. In November 2018, Matić refused to wear a

Remembrance poppy A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to gi ...

on his shirt for a match against Bournemouth. After the match, Matić was castigated and got threats by a number of people via social networks for not respecting servicemen who have died in war. Matić stated that he will not wear a poppy because his village of Vrelo was hit by the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

in 1999.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Serbia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Matić goal''

Honours

Košice *

Slovak Cup The Slovak Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Slovak football. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League. History The competition was first contested in 1969. Until 1993, the winner of the Slovak Cup would face the w ...

: 2008–09 Chelsea *

: 2014–15, 2016–17 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 2009–10; runner-up: 2016–17 Benfica *

: 2013–14 *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

: 2011–12 *

runner-up: 2012–13 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

runner-up: 2012–13 Manchester United *

runner-up: 2017–18 *

runner-up:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Individual *

LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year The Portuguese League for Professional Football Primeira Liga Player of the Year (often called the LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year, the Primeira Liga Player of the Year or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player ...

: 2012–13 * Serbian Footballer of the Year: 2014, 2015 * SJPF Player of the Month: December 2012,MATIC ELEITO O MELHOR DE DEZEMBRO/JANEIRO (Matic voted best player of December/January)
; SJPF, 1 February 2013 (Portuguese) January 2013, April 2013 *

: 2014–15 Premier League *Manchester United Goal of the Season: 2017–18 (vs. Crystal Palace, 5 March 2018)

References

External links

Profile on Serbian national football team website
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matic, Nemanja 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Šabac Serbian footballers Serbia under-21 international footballers Serbia international footballers Association football midfielders FK Kolubara players FC VSS Košice players Chelsea F.C. players SBV Vitesse players S.L. Benfica footballers Manchester United F.C. players A.S. Roma players Slovak Super Liga players Premier League players Eredivisie players Primeira Liga players FA Cup Final players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Serbian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Slovakia Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Italy Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in England Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Naturalized citizens of Slovakia Serbian people of Macedonian descent Slovak people of Macedonian descent Slovak people of Serbian descent