Morata 'never' wanted to leave Juventus, calls London stressful
If Alvaro Morata had it his way, he never would have left Juventus had Real Madrid not ordered him back from his two-year stay in Italy.
The Chelsea striker also described living in London as stressful and admitted he doesn't see himself calling the English capital home for too long.
Morata made the switch from Real Madrid to Chelsea last summer when the Premier League side reunited the striker with his former manager at Juventus, Antonio Conte.
But it was in Italy where Morata says he felt the most comfortable outside of his home country. Los Blancos were presumably eager to get a closer look at their asset and triggered the buy-back clause in their agreement with Juventus in the summer of 2016.
"Italy for a Spaniard is the best country to live. You have everything: beauty, history, art, cooking, fashion," Morata told Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, as translated by Joe Prince-Wright of NBC Pro Soccer Talk. "I would never have left Italy and Juve. The disappointment (of leaving Juventus) was enormous, I found myself back to the starting point. They (Real Madrid) treated me like the guy I was before the two Italian seasons."
Morata scored 22 goals in all competitions for Juventus before moving back to Madrid, where he spent most of his time as a substitute but still managed to find the back of the net 20 times.
He's had a modestly successful start to life in England despite an injury forcing him to miss a portion of the opening months of the season. But Morata expects his residency to be brief as he struggles to adapt to life in west London.
"I’m fine. I live in downtown Chelsea," he said. "London fascinates me with its multi-ethnicity, the coexistence of cultures and religions, but I do not see myself living here for very long. Too much, too much stress, too many metropolises."
Morata, who has scored six Premier League goals in nine appearances, added that Conte was a major reason for his arrival and that talks of a transfer to the Blues took place in the spring before Chelsea paid a club-record fee of reportedly £60 million.
However, Morata addressed his previous comments ahead of Chelsea's visit to Italy for Tuesday's Champions League tilt with AS Roma by telling reporters he's content with life in England.
Morata says he is very happy in London and he enjoys living there with his wife.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 30, 2017
He also hinted at possibly staying at the club beyond his contract, which expires in 2022.
"If they offered me 10 years (contract), I'd probably sign," he said, according to ESPN FC's James Twomey.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)