The sun is shining in blue skies over St George’s Park and on the indoor pitch at the national training centre, Mason Mount is making dreams come true.
Mount is on a day off after Manchester United’s win over Brentford on Monday night, and he is here to manage Wishes United – a team of 11 children with critical illnesses – assisted by Luke Shaw.
The opposition is made up of mascots from United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Portsmouth, managed by his old mate Jamie Redknapp.
‘I wanted to be Fred the Red,’ says Mount excitedly after watching the kids run rings around Moonchester, Gunnersaurus Rex and the others.
He has been planning this for 18 months with his brother Lewis, inspired by a day out they had at another event Make-A-Wish UK put together with Disney a few years ago.
‘It really touched me, and it was tough to leave at the end,’ recalls Mount. ‘I’m a footballer, but there’s more to life than just football.
Mason Mount (centre) supported a Make-A-Wish UK event at St George’s Park on Tuesday
He managed Wishes United, a team of 11 children with critical illnesses, assisted by Luke Shaw
‘I had an idea and went through the process of creating it with my brother, but when you see it brought to life I was blown away. It’s such a special day. The Make-A-Wish have been unbelievable in making it happen.’
The idea was an immersive two-day experience for the kids to ‘eat, sleep and train like a footballer’. The highlights included being chauffeur driven to St George’s Park, training at the facilities used by England, staying overnight and enjoying a tunnel experience with video messages from their favourite players.
‘Conor Gallagher phoned in yesterday,’ says Mount, who has paid for it all himself. ‘I loved that today, absolutely loved it.
‘Speaking to all the kids and meeting some of the families, it just means so much. It’s a little bit of time away that they can just come here and forget about things.’
Once they have headed for home still wearing their personalised kits, Mount is satisfied with a job very well done and happy to talk about a few wishes of his own; namely his ambition to win the Premier League title with United next season, to play a more prominent role at Old Trafford, and to revive his England career after the World Cup this summer.
‘Yeah, it’s a goal: I want to win the Premier League,’ says Mount. ‘Obviously I’ve won the Champions League already (with Chelsea), but can we do that? Yes, I think we can.
‘It may seem a little far away, but you have to have that mentality to really push yourself as a group. We’ve shown what we can do against the big teams already – Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, you know? So we definitely can do it.
‘I’ve had a little taste of winning something with the club, the FA Cup, and that was unbelievable. It was an amazing feeling. But to do a Premier League, I can’t even imagine how special that would be.’
Mount has declared that Manchester United can win the Premier League title next season
Mount knows it will be tougher next season with United almost certain to be involved in the Champions League as well after an unusually short 2025-26 campaign. It’s a challenge he relishes.
‘It’s Manchester United. We don’t want to play 40 games a season. We want to play a lot more and be back in the Champions League and in the cup competitions a lot longer than this season.
‘That’s what you want as a big club. You need big games and having that pressure of performing and winning. It’s so important, and that’s what we love as players.
‘United deserve to be in the Champions League, they need to be in the Champions League. The fans deserve it. They need to be watching Champions League football, and that’s performing at Old Trafford under the lights.
‘That’s what the goal was always to be this season. Obviously, we’re in a great position now after the Brentford game to really kick on and get it.’
And in Mount’s opinion, is Michael Carrick the man to lead United into next season?
‘It’s not my call, but you can see the way we play and how we’ve performed since he’s been in, the kind of position we’re in now, and we’re really pushing on.
‘I really like the way he works and the way he sees the game. He’s very level-headed and knows what he wants going into games.
‘Like you see on the sidelines, he’s very calm and collected. He’s been there, he’s done it. He knows what it’s like as a player. It’s that confidence that he’s brought and I think everyone’s reacted well to that.
‘He’s been brilliant for me personally. It was difficult at the beginning because Michael came in and I got injured. But he was saying, “I want you back, you’re a massive part of the team and the squad, and when you’re around the lads you obviously have a big effect”. So I know where I stand within the group.’
The 27-year-old hailed the impact of Michael Carrick since he took over at United in January
Injuries have held Mount back at United since he arrived from Chelsea in a £60million deal in the summer of 2023. He has made just 30 starts in three years at Old Trafford, and played less than half an hour of football in the three months between Carrick’s first game against City in mid-January and Monday’s win over Brentford.
It’s a mark of Mount’s positivity that he sees progress this season, but he’s 27 now and is it fair to say that we haven’t seen the best of him at United yet?
‘I think it’s fair. I will always back myself. I’m a bit older now and I’ve got more experience. It’s my third season and it’s flown. I love playing football.
‘But I haven’t been able to get that rhythm with the injuries and the setbacks. I’m in a really good position now to kick on. I know it’s the end of the season, but it’s so good to be back with the squad.
‘If I look back at this season, yes I’ve had injuries and I’ve missed games, but nowhere near as much as the season before or my first season. So it’s definitely been a step in the right direction.’
It means that an England recall has been out of the question, but Mount is hopeful of adding to his 36 caps under his old Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel with a home Euros on the horizon after the World Cup.
Mount has ambitions to get back into the England fold post-World Cup and add to his 36 caps
‘He gets to a few games, so I’ve spoken to him a few times after the game,’ says Mount.
‘Thomas knows me as a player and as a person inside out.
‘I think I was probably close at one point to getting in, and I had a little setback. Then it’s the rhythm, the momentum. It kind of pushes you back a bit, and then you’re trying to chase it.
‘I fully understand that. But it’s the pinnacle to represent your country at a major tournament. It’s tough when you’re not in the squad, but I will be working extremely hard next season to really put myself in a great position to get back in.’
