Morata explains how his Chelsea team-mates drove him ‘crazy’

Joe Williams
during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea FC at Molineux on December 5, 2018 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

Alvaro Morata says his former Chelsea team-mates drove him “crazy” because of the way they “looked at” him on the pitch.

Morata’s first-team chances at Stamford Bridge became increasingly limited under Maurizio Sarri and his loan move to Atletico earlier this year appeared to signal the end of his short-lived Premier League career.

And that was the case as Atletico Madrid confirmed a permanent deal at the end of the 2019-20 season following the completion of his 18-month loan.

The Spain international scored 24 goals in 72 appearances for Chelsea after joining from Real Madrid for a fee of around £60million in 2017 – but he failed to settle in west London.

“I’m happier now,” Morata told COPE radio. “It wasn’t a good time in my football life, I’d stopped enjoying it. At times I didn’t believe in myself.

“I was playing some games in England and I had the feeling that when I got into space, my teammates looked at me and I knew they thought I wouldn’t do anything good with the ball.

“It was driving me crazy. I had a bad time.

“I’ve smashed my phone after games. I’ve got home and thrown it against a wall.

“I had a back injury. I went to Germany for treatment… Two days later I played, my back hurt again, I had a terrible game. I had all these messages on my phone saying ‘don’t worry, good times are coming’ and I threw it against the wall.”