Alvaro Morata has lifted the lid on his miserable time at Chelsea and expressed hope that he can join Atletico Madrid permanently this summer.
The former Juventus and Real Madrid forward signed for the Blues for a then club-record fee of £70.6million in 2017, but struggled to make much of an impact before being shipped on loan to Atletico in January of this year.
The 26-year-old has made no secret of his desire to remain in the Spanish capital, and speaking to Goal, he revealed that he had lost his confidence in west London.
Morata said: “I had lost confidence in myself previously. I was very upset by the opinion of the people in England. I think they caught me in the middle of everything. I didn’t quite feel loved or appreciated by the club or the fans. I started very well at Chelsea, but an injury in the end leaves you dry.”
He added: “Now, signing for Atletico has been the best thing that could happen to me in my life. I had a very bad time in London. In the end I was training alone. I talked to Maurizio Sarri and he told me some things that I knew were not going to be as he had said. I was very nervous.”
Morata scored 15 goals in all competitions during his maiden campaign at Chelsea, winning the FA Cup, but he never lived up to the expectations of his enormous transfer fee.
Injury trouble restricted his playing time and affected his confidence, so much so that he felt his team-mates no longer trusted him.
At Atletico, however, the Spaniard feels more at home, in complete contrast to his time with the Europa League winners.
“As I arrive at the training centre (at Atletico), you can see in people’s faces when they trust you. When you are in the dressing room ahead a game, you see how your team-mates look at you. At Chelsea there came a time when my team-mates, except for the Spaniards, well... you know, it is not the same when you play and you know that you give a pass to someone who is not going to do as well.”
“You do not give the pass in the same way. Everyone who has played football once will understand that.”
