PICTURES: Morata says emotional goodbye to Real Madrid teammates

Alvaro Morata bid an emotional farewell to the Real Madrid squad on Wednesday, returning to the training field one last time to say his goodbyes before packing his bags for Chelsea.

The striker, who is about to become the most expensive Spaniard of all time after the Blues agreed to pay £70 million up front, was excused from training to wrap up his move.

And after the two clubs reached an agreement, he visited Real’s UCLA training base in Los Angeles one final time to bid farewell to both his teammate and the coaching staff, including manager Zinedine Zidane.

In pictures shared on Real Madrid’s official website, Morata is seen embracing the likes of Gareth Bale and Isco before heading back to the hotel early to collect his things.

The 24-year-old is thought to have flown to London to complete his medical and pen personal terms, and could then jet off again to China to link up with the rest of the Chelsea squad.

Morata was inundated with good luck messages after sealing his move, with club captain Sergio Ramos leading the tributes for a player who played an important role for the club in their double-winning campaign last season.

Moratoski, toda la suerte del mundo. Disfruta de tu nueva etapa y sigue metiendo goles como lo haces.Te echaremos de menos. @AlvaroMorata

— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) July 19, 2017

‘Moratoski, I wish you all of the luck in the world,’ Real’s captain wrote on Twitter. ‘Enjoy your next step and continue to score as many goals as you do. I’ll miss you.’

Via a post on Instagram, Isco also wished his countryman good luck: ‘Brother, you’re leaving now… I’m going to miss you so much. I just hope you are happy and find everything you deserve. I love you.’

@alvaromorata Hermano hoy te vuelves a ir… te voy a echar mucho de menos! Solo espero que seas feliz y encuentres todo lo que te mereces! Te quiero chavalote!❤️

A post shared by Isco Alarcon Suarez (@iscoalarcon) on Jul 19, 2017 at 12:02pm PDT

Morata has been desperate to secure a more prominent first-team role, having played backup to Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo last season, and will be Chelsea’s main striker.

The Blues have needed a new frontman since Antonio Conte told Diego Costa he no longer had a future at the club, but now he has finally landed a player he has already signed once before when in charge of Juventus.