Monday 30 October 2017 19:04, UK
Alvaro Morata says he cannot see himself living in London very long, admitting he finds England's capital "stressful", ahead of returning to Italy for Chelsea's clash with Roma.
The striker left Juventus in 2016 to re-join Real Madrid after the Spanish club activated a buy-back clause in his contract, having won two Serie A titles and helped Juve reach the Champions League final in his two years in Turin.
Despite struggling to earn regular first-team opportunities at Real Madrid, Morata has quickly got up to speed with the Premier League since moving to Chelsea - scoring six goals in nine appearances - but it is the pace of life off the pitch which is taking its toll on the forward.
"I'm fine," Morata told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I live in downtown Chelsea. London fascinates me with its multi-ethnicity, the coexistence of cultures and religions, but I do not see myself living here for very long. Too much, too much stress, too many metropolises."
Morata, whose wife is Italian, felt he arrived at Juventus "a boy" but left as "a real player", admitting the environment was perfectly suited for him - and not one he wanted to leave in order to return to Madrid.
"Italy for a Spaniard is the best country to live," he said. "You have everything: beauty, history, art, cooking, fashion. I would never have left Italy and Juve.
"The disappointment [of leaving Juventus] was enormous, I found myself back to the starting point. They [Real Madrid] treated me like the guy I was before the two Italian seasons."
Morata missed out on the chance to work with Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte at Juventus as the player's arrival in 2014 came shortly before the Italian's exit, but the lure of playing under Conte was the decisive factor in moving to Stamford Bridge.
"I came here because there was a coach like Antonio Conte," Morata added. "We started talking about my eventual transfer last spring and finally I really landed in London. "
