Alvaro Morata arrives in
London with wife to seal
£70m Chelsea move
Alvaro Morata is spotted arriving at Heathrow Airport with wife
Alice Campello
- He said his goodbyes to boss Zinedine Zidane and
- Gareth Bale on Wednesday
- His wife Alice Campello flew in from Spain to join him
- in the Heathrow terminal
Alvaro Morata has arrived in London ahead of his club
record move to Chelsea with cameras there to greet him
as he walked through Heathrow airport with wife Alice Campello.
The Spanish striker jetted in from Real Madrid's Los Angeles
training base overnight and reunited with Campello, who is
believed to have travelled from Spain to be with her husband
for his unveiling as a Blues star. His agent, Juanma Lopez,
was also present.
Asked by Sky Sports News why he was joining Chelsea, he said:
'Because it is the best club. Antonio Conte is one of the best
coaches of the world and I am so happy to work with Antonio.'
The Spanish striker is expected to sign a five-year deal with
Chelsea to complete a £70m move
Morata travelled overnight from Real Madrid's pre-season camp
with agent Juanma Lopez (R)
The Spain striker told Sky Sports News that Chelsea are one of the best
clubs in the world
'The most important thing is that I am here to play for Chelsea.
Finally I'm here. [The Premier League] is one of the best in
the world and I am so happy to be here.'
Asked if he had spoke to Chelsea's Spanish players before
making his decision, he said: 'Yes, I spoke with [Cesar] Azpilicueta
and he told me everything was OK.'
The striker was pictured saying farewell to his Real Madrid
team-mates at their training base in Los Angeles on Wednesday
with Chelsea agreeing a club record fee with Madrid for his services.
He will sign a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge worth
in the region of £155,000 a week.
Morata told Madrid's website: 'Many thanks for everything.
It's been incredible to once again win trophies here. I hope,
whenever they're not up against my team, that Madrid always win'.
The striker said he was looking forward to linking up with
Conte again, who he played for at Juventus in 2014, and feels
he can mature as a player in the Premier League.
'I am very happy, God willing, tomorrow I will be at Chelsea,
a club that has always wanted me,' Morata told Marca on Wednesday.
Morata embraces Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid's LA
training base as he says goodbye
Morata was also seen saying goodbye to Gareth Bale in the
video posted on Madrid's YouTube
Morata speaks to Lucas Vazquez (right) and Dani Carjaval
(centre) ahead of his Chelsea move
The Spain international thanked Madrid's supporters in a video
posted to the club's YouTube
'I'm going to the team managed by the coach who has placed
the most faith in me, and that's great for me. 'I want to grow up,
if I didn't I wouldn't have left. I'd like to thank Zidane and wish
him luck for the upcoming season.
'Thanks to all the Madridistas who supported me. I will always
wish Madrid the best. The last time I wore this shirt was in
Cibeles [For Madrid's Champions League victory parade].'
Chelsea insist the initial fee is closer to £58m but, with add-ons
Nacho (centre) and Isco (right) seemed keen to offer their
support to the departing Morata
Morata also thanked Zidane but said he was looking forward
to playing under Antonio Conte
The fee eclipses the £50m paid by Chelsea to Liverpool for Fernando Torres in 2011 and makes Morata the most expensive Spanish footballer ever.
Chelsea made their breakthrough after announcing Conte had signed a new two-year contract and confirmed the agreement with Real Madrid via their own website.
Conte wanted to sign him for Chelsea last summer but the champions opted to switch targets in January to concentrate on Romelu Lukaku. But the Belgian's decision to join Manchester United brought Morata back into focus.
Morata had been training at Madrid's pre-season training
camp at the UCLA campus
The 24-year-old striker had looked set to join Manchester
United earlier this summer
AC Milan had made enquiries too but Morata was always set on linking up with Conte again. Morata managed to score 20 goals in all competitions last season even though his starting opportunities were limited with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema occupying the main striking roles.
He hopes to establish himself as a regular starter under Conte as Chelsea look to offload Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid.
Morata had been training alone in California away from the main Madrid group. Initially, he had not intended to travel to the US, as he was expecting to join Manchester United prior to them gazumping Chelsea on Lukaku, but fate has found him another route to England.
Morata scored 20 times in all competitions for Real last
season despite limited opportunities
Morata spent two seasons at Juventus between 2014
and 2016 before Real resigned him
Chelsea had weighed up alternatives such as Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Andrea Belotti at Torino but Morata was always first choice once Lukaku opted for Old Trafford.
Chelsea will still look to add three more players and Juventus left back Alex Sandro remains a target. The Italians are reluctant to sell but they admire Chelsea's wantaway midfielder Nemanja Matic.
The Serb would prefer to move to Manchester United but will consider Juventus if they offer a longer-term contract.
No comments:
Post a Comment