Alvaro Morata

Alvaro Morata is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker.

The striker moved to Premier League side Chelsea FC in the 2017 summer transfer window in a £58m deal from Real Madrid.

Morata started his career with Real Madrid before the centre-forward moved to Serie A giants Juventus in 2014.

The Spanish forward spent two seasons in Turin before Morata returned to Real Madrid and won the Champions League and La Liga in 2017.

The attacker then completed a move to the Premier League in July 2017 after Chelsea FC agreed a then club-record fee with Real Madrid.

He then left the Blues in January 2019, initially joining Atletico Madrid on loan.

Morata re-signed for Juventus in September 2020 on an initial loan deal from Atletico Madrid, after his move to the Spanish club move was made permanent.

He made his senior international debut for Spain in 2014.

Early Life

Morata came through the ranks at Real Madrid but interestingly, the talented goal-scorer started his career at two of los Blancos’ Spanish rivals.

His first professional club was Atletico Madrid before he moved to Getafe, which is a club located in Madrid’s metropolitan area.

Then Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho looked to acclimatise Morata to the first-team squad with some training sessions alongside their world-class names such as Cristiano Ronaldo but the promising striker learned his trade with the Castilla side (Real Madrid’s reserves).

Morata scored 15 goals in 28 appearances in the Segunda Division in the 2010-11 season to underline his rising status as a promising talent.

He continued to score goals for Real Madrid’s B team in the next two seasons and his goal-scoring feats made his call-up to the senior squad inevitable.

Morata finished his Castilla career with 30 goals in 55 games.

Real Madrid (2010-14)

Alvaro made his Real Madrid debut as an 88th-minute substitute for Angel Di Maria in a 3-1 win against Real Zaragoza in December 2010.

Morata had to wait until 2011-12 for his next La Liga appearance but his road to the first team was congested by the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor on loan.

The Spanish striker scored a memorable first senior goal for Real Madrid. Alvaro was a late substitute in a 2-1 win at Levante and he scored the winner with less than five minutes to go.

That goal, however, didn’t earn him an immediate La Liga start. Indeed, Mourinho made the striker wait until February 2013 before handing the striker his full home debut against Rayo Vallecano.

Unfortunately, his first full start ended in disappointment after he was sacrificed to accommodate Raul Albiol following Sergio Ramos’ sending off.

His rising status in the Spanish capital was highlighted when Morata started El Clasico in March 2013. Morata teed up Karim Benzema in a 2-1 win against Benzema as he played the full 90 minutes.

Mourinho’s departure prompted the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti in 2013.

The Italian coach placed his faith in Morata and made the centre-forward a first-team regular at the Bernabeu.

The Spanish striker scored his first Champions League goal in a 3-1 win against Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04. Morata made a string of appearances en route to Real Madrid reaching the Champions League final.

He was a late substitute for Benzema in the European showpiece as Real Madrid beat their bitter rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties to win the trophy.

The Spain international scored nine times in 34 games in all competitions that season – but Morata decided to seek a new challenge in search of more first-team minutes.

Juventus

Morata opted to leave his native Spain and complete a €20m move to Serie A giants Juventus in 2014.

The Spanish striker signed an initial five-year contract with the Turin side but, crucially, Real Madrid inserted a clause which gave los Blancos the option to re-sign Morata in the future.

Although Antonio Conte had been at the helm at Juventus when the deal was being done, the striker’s prospective manager opted to leave the club to take over the reins of the Italian national team before his transfer went through.

New Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri initially used Morata sparingly.

The big-money signing made his Juventus debut as a late substitute for Fernando Llorente in September 2014.

His first goal for the Turin club came when he was brought off the bench to open his Juventus account with a header in a 3-0 victory over Atalanta.

He missed Juventus’ 2-1 win against Lazio in the Coppa Italia final due to suspension but was still able to celebrate a double success in his first season in Turin.

The striker played a key role in helping the Italian club reach a first Champions League final since 2002. Morata scored the winner in a 2-1 win against Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

Morata won a penalty in the quarter-finals to help Juventus beat Monaco. In a twist of fate, the Spain international was pitted against his former club when Juve faced Real Madrid in the last four.

He scored the opening goal in a 2-1 home win before netting at The Bernabeu in the return leg to help Juve secure their passage to the final. Tellingly, Morata didn’t celebrate either of his goals against los Blancos.

The Spanish striker’s second season was punctuated by transfer speculation linking Alvaro with a potential return to Real Madrid, or a switch to the Premier League.

Morata scored 12 times in 47 games in all competitions in the 2015-16 season as he secured his second successive Serie A and Coppa Italia titles.

Alvaro signed a contract extension to keep him at Juventus until 2020 in December 2015 – but Real Madrid exercised their clause to buy back Morata following a return of 27 goals in 93 games six months later.

Return To Real Madrid

Morata returned to Real Madrid in a €30m transfer in June 2016.

He started his first Real Madrid game of the 2016-17 season in a 3-2 win against Sevilla in the Uefa Super Cup.

It didn’t take Alvaro long for him to open his La Liga account for the campaign – and he scored in a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo in August 2016.

Morata started 14 games and was a substitute 12 times as Real Madrid pipped FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to the Spanish title in 2016-17.

He contributed 15 goals and four assists to Zinedine Zidane’s team but struggled to hold down a regular first-team place as the French legend persevered with his rotation policy.

Morata found securing a starting place in the Champions League to be even more difficult. In fact, the Spanish striker only started one game in Real Madrid’s title-winning campaign.

He made a further eight appearances from the bench but only got 27 minutes in the knockout stage of the Champions League. Morata was an 88th-minute substitute in Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over his former club Juventus in the final in Cardiff.

Given his lack of starting opportunities in the 2016-17 campaign, it was no surprise to see Morata on the move again in the 2017 summer transfer window.

Chelsea FC

Having missed out on the opportunity to play under Conte at Juventus, Morata got his chance to work with the Italian coach at Chelsea when the Premier League club signed the striker in July 2017.

The Blues manager made Morata the most-expensive signing in Chelsea’s history after the 2017 champions signed the centre-forward in a £58m deal from Real Madrid.

The Spain international scored six times in his first seven games in the Premier League. He netted his first Chelsea hat-trick in a 4-0 win at Stoke City on 23 September.

Morata opened his Champions League account in a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid.

However, his impressive start to the 2017-18 season was hampered by a hamstring injury in a 1-0 loss to Manchester City on 30 September.

Morata won the FA Cup in 2018 with Chelsea FC.

Atletico Madrid

Morata signed for Atletico Madrid on loan in the January transfer window in 2019.

His move to Atletico was made permanent in July 2020, with the transfer fee reported to be around £58m.

Return To Juventus

In September 2020, Morata re-signed for Italian side Juventus, initially on a one-year loan deal.

Juventus then took up the option to extend his loan move by another season in the summer of 2021.

International Career

Morata made his first senior appearance in the Spain national team in November 2014.

Morata was included in Spain’s squad for Euro 2016. The striker scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Turkey in the group stage.

Following his move to Chelsea FC, Morata converted his domestic form to the international stage with a brace in a 3-0 win against Italy in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Personal Life

Morata married his wife, Alice Campello, at a lavish wedding ceremony in Venice in June 2017. The couple have three children – twins Alessandro and Leonardo, and son Edoardo.

Morata speaks English, Italian and Spanish with his wife Alice.

Alvaro Morata – Did You Know?

Morata has already enjoyed great success in his professional career.

The Spain international has won two La Liga titles, two Serie A crowns, two Copa del Rey trophies and three Coppa Italia crowns. Morata has also won the Champions League twice (both with Real Madrid).

However, Alvaro has managed to remain grounded despite playing for three of Europe’s biggest clubs.

In March 2014, Morata shaved his head after he visited a cancer charity home and one of the children was upset that they couldn’t have a haircut like the striker. Morata reportedly said: “Kids with cancer wanted to have my haircut but they couldn’t, so I gave myself theirs.”