I Would Never Have Left Italy – Morata

Alvaro Morata has said he would never have left Juventus, had he not been instructed to go back to Real Madrid in 2016.

“There were contractual agreements to respect, but the disappointment was enormous — I found myself right back where I had started,” Morata said. “They treated me like the lad that I was before my two years in Italy.

“My two years at Juve were fantastic. I was just a lad when I arrived and I was a real footballer when I left.

For a Spaniard, Italy is the best place to live. You’ve got all the beauty, history, art, good food and fashion.

“I would never have left Italy and Juve.”

Morata still scored 15 goals in 26 appearances for Real, and won La Liga and the Champions League before joining Chelsea in a move he said started to take shape before the end of last season.

“I came here because they have a coach like Antonio Conte,” he said. “We started to talk about me possibly coming here last spring and, in the end, I actually came to London. There were a series of situations that were favourable, starting with the coach — I knew Conte and I had no problems fitting into his ideas of football.

“[Conte] is demanding, but he gets the best out of his players’ strengths. You can tell that he knows what it is like to be at a big club, first as a player, then as a coach.”

“Roma have impressed me and they would have deserved to have beaten us in London,” Morata said. “We got away with it. But we start from scratch again this time and, after our three wins in a row, I think that Chelsea will be more motivated.

“Roma created us problems in London and I’d say they have an edge over Atletico.”