Matic, Rodriguez, Kranjcar: Managers who’ve signed the same player multiple times

Nemanja Matic looks set to leave Manchester United for AS Roma, joining the inaugural Europa Conference League champions for free ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Matic will bring to an end a five-season stay at United which has unfortunately yielded no silverware, as the Red Devils finished Premier League runners up on two occasions and Europa League finalists in 2021.

As reported by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Matic is set to sign for Roma on a one-year contract, with an option to extend for a further year.

The move has been ushered on by Roma manager Jose Mourinho, who signed Matic at both United and Chelsea, winning the Premier League with the Serbian midfielder at the latter.

Mourinho knows exactly what he will get from signing Matic. Despite his advancing age, his experience, reliability and tactical edge makes for excellent value for money on a free transfer, further bolstering an exciting Roma side that is becoming well geared to Mourinho’s ways.

Some players and managers just click. They go hand in hand, like an old school wrestling tag team. Mourinho and Matic feels exactly like that. Two wise heads who each know what to expect from one another and both strive for the same goal of winning.

But, while Mourinho clearly has his favourites, he isn’t the only manager to have taken a liking to specific players over the years. It’s a strange but interesting quirk within football, and surprisingly one that isn’t actually more popular, considering how quickly managers move around these days.

Certain managers just love certain players. They’ve proven key to how they can get a team clicking in previous years, and continue to rely on it wherever they can. Of course, it doesn’t always work, but GIVEMESPORT has compiled a