Alvaro Morata has revealed a three-and-a-half year promise to Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone that he would join the Spanish side as soon as he could.
The striker, on loan in Madrid after a sorry year-and-a-half with Chelsea, struggled to settle in west London and was not afraid of making his unhappiness abundantly clear during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Following a club-record £58million move from Real Madrid, Morata managed just 16 Premier League goals in a Chelsea shirt and was left out of numerous matchday squads under Maurizio Sarri.
His commitment at Chelsea had come under question on a number of occasions, and now the 26-year-old says that, even before joining the London club, he had promised to move elsewhere.
"If I tell you the truth, the first contact was three-and-a-half years ago," he told Spanish outlet AS.
"I gave him my word that as soon as I was able to, I would come.
"It wasn't possible before, but it wasn't because of me. I gave him my word, and now I've come here it has been the time when I've talked with Simeone the least!"
Morata will face another of his former clubs in the Champions League when Atletico take on Juventus on Wednesday night where he will be looking to score his first goal for Simeone and a first in Europe’s top competition since scoring against his new club for Chelsea in 2017.
