Man Utd player Mata to give 1% of his salary to 'Common Goal'

Manchester United and Spain midfield maestro Juan Mata has pledged to donate one per cent of his salary to charity - and he wants other footballers to follow him in doing the same.

The Spaniard, who reportedly earns 140,000-a-week at old trafford, will be giving the money to common goal - a collective fund of 120 charities in 80 countries around the world.

"It's a small gesture that if shared can change the world," Mata wrote in a blog for the player's tribune.

"I'm asking my fellow professionals to join me in forming a common goal starting XI. together we can create a movement based on shared values that can become integral to the whole football industry -

"I am leading this effort, but i don't want to be alone."

Describing his fortune at having been able to forge a career in football, Mata explained that he now wanted to give something back.

"We have so many opportunities simply because we play a children's game," he went on, in his appeal to fellow professionals.