The 20-year-old has departed Old Trafford after five years in Manchester United’s academy ranks. He moves permanently to the La Liga club on a free.
He’ll link up in Spain with Hannibal Mejbri, who also joined the Spanish club from United this January – albeit on loan.
Manchester United confirmed the deal on Thursday morning.
Manchester United’s club media posted the following statement on the academy star, confirming his departure.
‘Mateo Mejia has completed a permanent move to Sevilla, after four-and-a-half years with Manchester United.’
‘The 20-year-old has been part of our Academy since 2019, when he signed from hometown club Real Zaragoza.’
‘Although he was born in the northern Spanish city, Mejia is eligible to represent Colombia through his parents and made his debut for their Under-20s in December 2022.’
‘Mejia recovered from a couple of injury setbacks to establish himself as a regular for the Under-21s, making 15 appearances and scoring against Arsenal and Leicester City in 2022/23.’
‘He travelled to the United States as part of the youth squad last summer and played in the friendly against Wrexham, replacing Shola Shoretire for the final stages in San Diego.’
‘Mateo, who trained with Erik ten Hag‘s first team, continued to be an option for Travis Binnion this term, playing 12 times – including three games in the EFL Trophy – and finding the net three times.’
‘We’d like to take this opportunity to wish Mateo all the best for the future – we’ll be following your career with great interest.’
Spanish coaches excited about Mejia
Spanish media think Sevilla is getting a real player on their hands here. Michel Catalan, Mejia’s former youth coach at Real Zaragoza, had the following to say after it was known Mejia would be signing for Los Hispalenses.
“I was in that match with Santi Aragón and he surprised us from the first moment, especially with his speed and ability to unbalance,” he told Estadio Deportivo.
“We signed him and it was always at a different pace thanks to his speed. Mateo is a bullet and with spaces, he is simply deadly,” explained Catalán.
He added he also stands out “for a great and beautiful stride” and “a powerful start that makes him very difficult to reach in the race.”
We wish Mejia all the best in his Spanish endeavours.
