Alvaro Morata pledged his future to Chelsea for the next decade as he attempted to ease fears that he was not keen on life in London.
‘I am happy with the club and the city and with everything in London,’ said Morata, who signed a five-year contract when he arrived from Real Madrid in July.
‘If I make good and improve, probably I can stay here for more than five years. If Chelsea proposed me 10 years, I’d probably sign that, too. But I need to score many goals, otherwise Chelsea will buy another player.’
Morata was back in Italy where he starred for two years at Juventus and he was backtracking furiously on an interview published in Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday.
‘London fascinates me with its multi-ethnicity, the coexistence of cultures and religions, but I do not see myself living here for very long,’ Morata told the Italian newspaper ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League match against Roma.
He said it was ‘too big’ with ‘too much stress’, and claimed Italy was the ‘best place to live’, saying he never wanted to leave Juventus when Real Madrid activated a buy-back clause in his contract in 2016.
‘You have everything,’ said Morata. ‘Beauty, history, art, cooking and fashion. I would never have left Italy and Juve. The disappointment was enormous.’
Chelsea made Morata their record signing when they bought him from Real Madrid in a deal which could cost as much as £70million.
Antonio Conte identified him to replace Diego Costa, who never seemed entirely settled in London, fell out with the manager and pined for Spain until a deal was struck for him to return to Atletico Madrid in January.
When Morata’s interview filtered back from Italy, it seemed like the opening scenes of Costa the sequel – a feeling enhanced because Conte is another with his future in question.
Morata, however, put the whole thing down to a ‘communication problem’ and Conte weighed in to offer his own appraisal of life in London for a Chelsea hero. ‘Alvaro is a good person,’ said Conte. ‘He is enjoying his time in London and enjoying playing with Chelsea, a great team.
‘I know where he is living now with his wife. It is the same building that I lived in last season, a lovely place and not so far from the training ground.
‘I’m sure about this because every time I have spoken with him, he has told me he’s very happy.
‘Last season I was alone without my family. When you stay abroad to work with a lot of pressure, it’s good to have your family with you. This season, I solved this problem because my family stay with me and we are enjoying London and enjoying this league.’
Morata explained the problems of his new life in London revolved mainly around its hectic nature and congested streets. ‘When I say it’s a stressful city, I’m only talking about the traffic and that there are a lot of people, but it’s an incredible city,’ said the 25-year-old.
‘Probably in the future, when I finish my career, I won’t live in London. When I need to bring my child to school and when I finish my career, I’d prefer to come back to my country.
‘It’s normal. For me, I prefer the place I was born. But now I’m very happy.’
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