When Alvaro Morata moved to Chelsea from Real Madrid in 2017, the move was met with much fanfare. Stamford Bridge had wanted Everton’s Romelu Lukaku instead, and Morata was thought to be headed to Manchester United.
It was basically a second choice for many involved, and starting out on the wrong foot wasn’t good for anybody really. Morata flopped at Chelsea (although to be fair Lukaku is definitely not living up to expectations at United either), and he moved back to Madrid, this time with Atletico, on loan in January.
The Spaniard was very open about his difficulties in adjusting to life in London, and publicly pined for a return home. He got it in mid-season and today brought the news that Morata is at Atletico Madrid to stay.
Hit with a two window transfer ban, Chelsea cannot sign any new players, but they may look into bringing back some of their footballers who are out on loan (they have a few, you might have heard). Morata will certainly not be one of them.
“Morata, who is on loan until the end of the 2019/20 season, will now join Atletico in a permanent switch after two years as a Chelsea player, in which he scored 24 times in 72 appearances,” a club statement reads.
Thank you and good luck, @AlvaroMorata. ?
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 6, 2019
It’s been reported that this deal was worth £48.5-£50 million, so it appears Chelsea will get most of the £60m they invested in Morata back. It’s probably best for all involved that he moves on.
A couple hours after that announcement was made, the west London club had more news to share. Homegrown midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has put pen to paper on a new deal reportedly worth £150,000-a-week.
He’ll stay at the club another five years.
“I’m really happy and pleased that I get to stay here for another five years. It’s the place where I’ve grown up playing and hopefully I’ll be playing here for a lot longer,” reads a statement attributed to Loftus-Cheek.
“At eight or nine years old, of course you never think you’ll be here for so long because you just want to enjoy yourself and play with your friends.”
“When I look back and see how the hard work has paid off, it’s a good feeling. That only makes me want to work harder to achieve more in the future.”
“I hope to win a lot more trophies with the team and personally it’s just about trying to do as well as I can and work hard to be a key player for Chelsea.”
So there you have it, the first couple major transactions of the Frank Lampard era are underway.
More good news…
?? @rubey_lcheek has signed a new long-term contract with the Blues! ?
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 6, 2019
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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