For years, Manchester United's Juan Mata has garnered the reputation of being one of the nicest blokes in all of football.Despite a string of turbulent seasons at the club, the Spaniard's loveable demeanour off the field has inspired admiration amongst fans - even if the performances on the pitch aren't going according to plan.The feather in Mata's philanthropic cap could be argued as being the launch of the midfielder's Common Goal movement. Players across Europe - including the likes of Mats Hummels, Giorgio Chiellini, and Mata himself - have all pledged their support by donating 1% of their salaries to help tackle social challenges across the world.Outside of his award-winning charitable efforts, Mata has developed a close relationship with United fans, often taking the time to meet and talk to fans whenever he can.However, The 30-year-old's latest gesture is certainly one that will capture the hearts of many.Images have resurfaced on social media from a few days ago where Mata is seen giving a 12-year-old fan a signed match-worn shirt, before joining in on a training session.What's more remarkable is that the young fan is actually the brother of esteemed football journalist, Andy Mitten.In his latest column for ESPN, Mitten revealed the story behind the United player's incredible gesture.He wrote: "On Wednesday night midfielder Juan Mata showed up in the bitter cold at Harry, my brother's, training session for his junior team Wythenshawe."The mother of one of my brother's teammates knew Mata and his girlfriend, Evelina. She mentioned to Juan that we had lost our father and Harry was struggling and wondered if it would be possible to get something signed for him."Once Mata arrived, he asked who Harry was. The pair of them spoke and then Mata presented him with a signed Manchester United shirt."Hats off to the Spaniard.However, it doesn't end there. Mitten then reveals that Mata had, in fact, stayed for 50 minutes to help the group train.He continued: "One of the coaches wanted to show off a ball launcher which can be used in training to Mata, but instead the Spaniard suggested that he would cross the balls for the young men instead, which he did for 20 minutes.

"He then signed shirts which belonged to the boys."

Well, if one thing's for certain, there's no denying now that Juan Mata is one of the nicest figures in all of sport.