Álvaro Morata is enjoying a stellar start to the season with five goals in seven matches, but his career could have looked very different now. The striker was on the verge of leaving Atlético Madrid, but this was prevented by soothing words from the club leadership.
Morata had options in Saudi Arabia, but chose to stay longer in Madrid. 'It wasn't a difficult decision. I feel good and think this could be a great year. I've never had the chance to play this often for Atlético and the national team,' says Morata at El Larguero.
'It's true that a conversation with Diego Simeone and the club leadership was needed. I needed to feel important within the club and play more than last year (Morata played 36 times in the league, but was also often substituted, ed.). I was close to leaving because I wanted to feel important and I do feel that this year. The coach and leadership indicated that I should stay. Yes, my future depended on that conversation. Of course,' says Morata.
'I had several options, but I always do. My first choice was to stay at Atlético. I could also go to Saudi Arabia and will say that it's a dream to play there, just to annoy the people who want to hurt me. I often felt disrespected and understand that if you play poorly, you get criticized, but I've also experienced unpleasant things. I've also had moments when I needed to clear my head and wanted to leave, because I didn’t want to experience this again. Normally I don’t care, but there are also difficult moments. There are people who have fewer brains than my small children. That I'm still playing here, I owe to my family and the people I work with.'
