Breaking news: Why the BBC has made last-minute change to Euro 2024 punditry team for England final finally is out

For its coverage of England’s Euro 2024 final matchup versus Spain, the BBC has made a last-minute addition to its punditry team. Juan Mata, a former star of Chelsea and Manchester United as well as the Spanish Euro 2012 winner, has been called in to join Gary Lineker and the regular faces on the sofa.

In the 2012 final, Mata scored in Spain’s convincing 4-0 victory over Italy, giving Vincente Del Bosque’s team back-to-back European Championship victories. The broadcaster, which will be vying against ITV for viewers on Sunday night when the final gets underway at 8 p.m., considers his attendance to be a major achievement.

In particular, the 36-year-old has been brought in as a fair and impartial voice to offer opinions on Spanish football. He left Japanese team Vissel Jobe after just one game at the beginning of February, and he is currently without a club.

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Former United teammate Rio Ferdinand and former Manchester City captain Micah Richards will be joining Mata in the studio, with Lineker serving as the host for the coverage on BBC One and iPlayer.

It is also expected that Mata will be included on the coverage of BBC Radio 5 Live. Guy Mowbray will have the company of former England captain Alan Shearer in the commentary box. Kelly Somers and Lionesses legend Alex Scott will spearhead ground-level coverage from pitchside.

After England’s exciting 2-1 semifinal victory against the Netherlands on ITV on Wednesday, over 20 million viewers are expected to tune in for the final, which is predicted to be the most viewed event of the year on British television.

The 36-year-old Mata had an amazing 11-year career that includes stops at Valencia, Chelsea, Man United, Galatasaray, and most recently, Kobe. In addition, he has 41 caps for Spain’s national team, where he spent six years with La Roja and scored 10 goals.Mata was also a member of the winning Spanish team from the 2010 World Cup, where he came off the bench once in a 2-0 group-stage triumph over Honduras. Given that he was up against players like Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa, David Silva, and many others for a spot, Mata’s international record is remarkable.

Mata also had significant success in Europe at the club level. He helped Didier Drogba score a crucial goal in Chelsea’s victory over Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League final. The following season, Chelsea won the Europa League. Later, Mata was a vital member of Jose Mourinho’s United team during their FA Cup and Europa League winning season.