Alvaro Morata has been happy to bow to the seniority of David Villa as the veteran forward makes his return to Spain duty.
The 35-year-old New York City striker has been called to Julen Lopetegui’s selection for World Cup qualifying matches against Italy and Liechtenstein, having failed to play for his country since the final match of their Brazil 2014 campaign, which ended in the group stages.
Villa marked that occasion with a goal, taking his tally to 59 for his country – a figure unmatched for the 2010 world champions.
As such, his recall after three years means that Morata has happily given him back his famous No.7 shirt.
“The No.7 belongs to David Villa,” the Chelsea forward said upon joining the national team, despite having made that shirt his own over the course of his last two years with La Roja.
Morata has nine goals in international football, having played 20 times for Spain.
