Alvaro Morata has had a fine season at Atletico Madrid, although he could not have even been at the club right now. He was heavily linked with a move away last summer, with clubs in Italy and Saudi Arabia having shown strong interest in signing him.
However, he stayed, and actually signed two new contracts during the summer. He revealed the state of play from that time, and also admitted to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Estadio Deportivo) that Diego Simeone is the main reason that he is still in the Spanish capital right now.
“The situation was pretty unusual. My contract with Atletico was about to expire, and I extended it, massively changing the financial condition and even the terms of a possible sale due to Financial Fair Play reasons.
“Milan called me and many coaches because I am on good terms with everyone. Allegri (manager of Juventus) coached me and the same is true of Mourinho who gave me my Real Madrid debut. I liked the idea of joining Roma to play with Paulo (Dybala), in a club and in a city filled with passion, where they live football like in South America.
“There were contractual problems with Italian clubs, but a chat with Simeone changed everything. I want to clarify one thing. Many say we don’t get along. This is absolutely not true. We are on excellent terms, and it has improved since last summer because we’ve known each other more personally. In football terms, everything was clear already. We’ve made a step forward in terms of mutual understanding.”
Morata could well leave Atletico Madrid this summer, as he is not considered to be an untouchable player by club officials. It means that a return to Italy could be on the cards this time around.
