Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata has revealed that returning to the club he began his career with is ‘the best thing that could have happened’ for his career.
The 26-year-old began his footballing career in Los Rojiblancos’ youth system in 2005 before breaking through to the first-team with local rivals Real Madrid in 2010.
Morata re-joined Atletico on loan in January 2019 after struggling to make a regular impact with Chelsea, and the clubs agreed a deal this summer that sees the move become permanent in July 2020.
The Spain international has been keen to stress how much his return to Los Rojiblancos means, telling EFE: “Atletico are the best thing that could have happened to me.
"It would mean so much to me to win titles with Atleti, even more than anything I've won in the past because this is different."
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Morata netted six goals in 17 appearances across all competitions during the second half of the season for Diego Simeone’s side.
This season however, the striker will have to shoulder a larger chunk of the goalscoring burden after 21-goal forward Antoine Griezmann completed his move to Barcelona on Friday.
"Big players have left, especially big characters," Morata added.
"I wish they could still be here, but everyone has their own circumstances and has their own trajectory.
"[Griezmann] is a top top player, I don't need to tell you how big he is.
"He's been one of the best players that Atleti have had in recent times."
Morata enjoyed his best goalscoring season with Real Madrid during the 2016-17 season as the club lifted the Champions League and La Liga, with the Spaniard coming off the bench late on as they defeated his former club Juventus 4-1 in the final.
The Spaniard scored 20 goals in 43 appearances that season before moving on to join Chelsea, where he would go on to net 15 goals in 48 appearances across all competitions.
His goalscoring record worsened somewhat under Maurizio Sarri the following season however, with his tally reaching nine goals in 24 appearances before the Blues shipped the striker off to Atletico in the January transfer window.
