Juan Mata admits it is painful to see Manchester City and Liverpool above Manchester United.
The Red Devils are currently languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, whilst their storied rivals are neck and neck at the top for the second consecutive season.
"I like to watch matches when I have a day off because I love the game and I can appreciate good football, but if I am watching Liverpool or Man City playing, the rivalry they have with my club means a lot to me," Mata told Goal.
"You can say it doesn't mean as much to me as it does to a fan, but it can for sure. Michael Owen clearly gave you a different view on this, but the rivalry that means a lot to the fans of my club also means a lot to me.
"For example, I have a passion for my first club Real Oviedo. So, I cannot be happy if they play well and the result has gone against them. Also, I cannot look at their rivals and say I am happy if they are playing good football and achieving more.
"It is the same now that I am at United. You can see that City and Liverpool are good teams and they play nice football, but I cannot be happy that United are behind them at the moment. Of course not. I understand what it means to the fans to be behind City and Liverpool, and I cannot be happy about this. I prefer to focus on us rather than thinking about our rivals."
