Juan Mata aiming to emulate Ryan Giggs by playing until he is 40 at Manchester United

Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata wants to emulate Ryan Giggs and stay at Old Trafford until he is 40 years old.

The Spain international joined the club in January 2014 from Chelsea and has played a central role for the club since, despite operating under four different managers during his spell.

Signed by David Moyes mid-way through his only season in charge, Mata has also worked with caretaker boss Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, who has handed the 29-year-old 13 appearances in all competitions this season.

Mata is out of contract with United at the end of this season, though the club are expected to activate an option to extend the deal by 12 months through to 2019.

The Mirror understands Mata has turned down an offer to move to an unnamed club in China, despite being offered a deal worth £165,000-week, such is his desire to remain with United.

And the ex-Valencia man appears ready to sign a lengthy contract extension and has set an ambitious target of staying with the 20-time English league champions for another 11 years.

"Why not? I'm 29 and hopefully I can play football for some more years," Mata told ESPN when asked if he wants to finish his career at United. "It would be great to play until I'm 40 like Ryan Giggs. But that's still a bit far, still 11 years.

"I'm happy here. The club is massive, the support we have is massive. I've been settled down in the city since year one. Now it's my fourth year in Manchester.

"You never know what can happen in football and in life. But my feeling now is that I'm happy here and I wouldn't have any problem continuing here for more time."

Though Mata has outlined plans to remain playing for some years to come, he has already turned his attention to life after he eventually hangs up his boots.

Despite having previously been put off by the idea, Mata would consider a career in management after his career has come to an end.

"If you had asked me a few years ago whether I wanted to be a manager, I would say no," he added. "I think every footballer, after 20 years playing football, the first thing that comes to your mind is to relax.

"One, two years gap and do other things in life and enjoy other hobbies you might have. Right now, with years of understanding the game better, understand more the tactical approach or communicate with teammates, how to motivate them, I wouldn't say no to becoming a manager but I don't know."