Alvaro Morata has said goodbye to his Real Madrid team-mates as he prepares to seal a £70.6million move to Chelsea.
Morata embraced Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane and shared a quiet word with the manager in a video posted to the club’s official YouTube account.
The striker was then mobbed by a series of Madrid team-mates, including Isco, Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale, as he bid farewell to the squad at their Los Angeles training base.
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This is how Morata bid farewell to the Real Madrid players and coaching staff.???????? #RMTour #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/8nq2fDnmPx
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) July 20, 2017
Morata is set to arrive in London on Thursday morning after Chelsea agreed a club record fee with Madrid for the 24-year-old striker – he will sign a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge worth in the region of £155,000 a week.
The striker said he was looking forward to linking up with Antonio Conte again, who he played for at Juventus, 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.
“I’m not disappointed about anything, I’ve won four titles here [with Real Madrid], but now I only think of putting on the Chelsea shirt.
“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.
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“I’m going to the team managed by the coach who has placed the most faith in me, and that’s great for me.
“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.”
Chelsea insist the initial fee is closer to £58m but, with add-ons to follow, the final figure is expected to be £70.6m.
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 manager Conte had signed his 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 his decision to join Manchester United brought Morata back into focus.
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.
