Spain international Alvaro Morata has finally opened up on his days at Chelsea marred by misery and below par performance.

The Chelsea forward who is presently on loan at Atletico Madrid scored 15 goals for Chelsea over one-and-a-half seasons before departing for Atleti in January 2019. He has, however, expressed hope of sealing a permanent move to the La Liga club this summer.

The former Juventus and Real Madrid forward moved to Stamford Bridge in 2017 after a then club-record fee of £70.6million but struggled to make much of an impact before being shipped on loan to Atletico in January 2019.

The 26-year-old has never hidden his desire to remain in the Spanish capital, and in an interview with Goal, he revealed that he had lost his confidence in returning to London.

Morata said:

“I had lost confidence in myself previously. I was very upset by the opinion of the people in England. I think they caught me in the middle of everything.

“I didn’t quite feel loved or appreciated by the club or the fans. I started very well at Chelsea, but an injury, in the end, leaves you dry.

“As bad as it was, I still scored 15 goals and won the FA Cup… but I was out of the World Cup, and for me that was the hardest thing that could happen to me in my life. 

“I’ve dreamed of being able to play in a World Cup since I was 10 years old, and I chose Chelsea because I thought it would be the best club to later be able to play in the World Cup.”

He added:

“Now, signing for Atletico has been the best thing that could happen to me in my life.

“I had a very bad time in London. In the end, I was training alone. I talked to Maurizio Sarri and he told me some things that I knew were not going to be as he had said. I was very nervous.

“I could not even go out in London! And one day I get up with a shooting pain in my back, my level goes down, and they start telling me everything [referring to criticism about him] in England. You are supposed to be respected by fans, but you know…”

He said injury trouble which restricted his playing time and affected his confidence so much that he felt his team-mates no longer trusted him.

At Atletico, however, the Spaniard feels more at home, in complete contrast to his time with Chelsea.

“As I arrive at the training centre (at Atletico), you can see in people’s faces when they trust you. When you are in the dressing room ahead a game, you see how your team-mates look at you.

“At Chelsea there came a time when my team-mates, except for the Spaniards, well… you know, it is not the same when you play and you know that you give a pass to someone who is not going to do as well. 

“You do not give the pass in the same way. Everyone who has played football once will understand that,” Morata said.