Morata on loan from Chelsea
Alvaro Morata’s links to Real Madrid
caused some Atletico fans to protest
against the transfer. Part of the crowd
attending the team’s 2-0 win over
Getafe on Saturday criticized the
player’s signing
Atletico Madrid signed striker Alvaro
Morata on Monday to an 18-month loan
from Chelsea, ending his miserable stay
in English soccer following aclub-record
move from Real Madrid for $75 million.
Morata will return to the club where he
started playing as a child. The 26-year-
old Spaniard passed his medical exam
on Sunday in Madrid.
“I’m very happy and proud to be here,â€
he said. “I can’t wait to start practising
with my teammates and to start
playing.â€
Morata played in Atletico’s youth
program before joining Real Madrid’s
academy in 2008. He eventually became
a first-team player for Real Madrid and
helped it win two Champions League
titles.
His links to Real Madrid caused some
Atletico fans to protest against the
transfer. Part of the crowd attending the
team’s 2-0 win over Getafe on Saturday
criticized the player’s signing.
Financial details of the transfer were
not immediately released.
Morata returns to the Spanish league
after a disappointing year-and-a-half
with Chelsea, which he joined in the
2017-18 season. His last appearance
with the English club was against
Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Jan.
5, when he scored both goals in the
team’s 2-0 win.
Chelsea was the first big club where
Morata was signed as the first-choice
striker — he was used primarily as a
back-up at Real Madrid and Juventus.
He had problems adapting to the
gruelling nature of English soccer,
scoring seven goals in his first seven
competitive games before finding the
net only eight times in his final 40
games last season.
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri called
Morata “a little bit fragile from the
mental point of view,†and said he
needed a new striker to cure Chelsea’s
shortage of goals. The London team has
since brought in Gonzalo Higuain on
loan from Juventus.
Morata was not a regular starter under
Sarri, scoring five goals in the Premier
League.
He heads to Atletico as a request by
coach Diego Simeone, whose forwards
include Antoine Griezmann, Victor
“Vitolo†Machin, Nikola Kalinic and
Diego Costa.
Vitolo and Costa have been out of action
with injuries, with the Brazilian-born
striker Costa not expected to be
available for a while because of a foot
injury that required surgery last year.
Morata has made 27 appearances with
Spain’s national team, with 13 goals. He
was part of the team that played in the
2016 European Championship in
France, but missed out on the squad for
the 2018 World Cup in Russia because
of his poor club form.
The striker has 82 goals and 37 assists
in his career.
A day before Morata’s arrival, Atletico
said they agreed to loan Portugal
forward Gelson Martins to Monaco for
the remainder of the season. Martins
scored one goal in 12 appearances with
Atletico this season.
Atletico trail Spanish league leader
Barcelona by five points after 21
matches. They will face Juventus in the
last 16 of the Champions League on Feb.
20.