Alvaro Morata: 'I would never have left Juventus'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 30 October 2017

Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata hints that he would still be playing for Juventus if Real Madrid had not re-signed the Spain international in the summer of 2016.

Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata has hinted that he would still be playing for Italian champions Juventus if Real Madrid had not re-signed the Spain international in the summer of 2016.

After representing Madrid between 2008 and 2014, Morata left to join Juventus - spending two seasons with the Italian giants and managing 27 goals in 93 appearances.

Real Madrid decided to activate a clause that would allow them to re-sign the 25-year-old in the summer of 2016, but Morata has blasted the Spanish champions for how they treated him on his return to Madrid.

"Why I chose to return to Real Madrid? Because there were contractual agreements that needed to be respected," Morata told Gazzetta dello Sport. "The disappointment was enormous: I found myself back to square one. They treated me like the boy I was before my two seasons in Italy.

"Juve's trademark? A winning mentality and great professionalism. My two seasons at Juve were great. I went there as a boy and left as a real player. For a Spaniard, Italy is the best country to live in. You have everything: beauty, history, art, cooking, fashion. I'd have never left Italy and Juve."

Morata has scored seven times in 11 appearances for Chelsea this season.