Alvaro Morata returns to Juventus on an initial 12-month loan deal from Atletico Madrid. The Nomadic striker has headed back to Turin for a second spell with the Serie A champions, where he spent two seasons between 2014 and 2016, including scoring in the Champions League final loss to Barcelona in Berlin in 2015.
While there is no definitive term for how long a player should possibly stay or use at a club, or how many clubs a player should turn out for before being term a nomad is probably why we may not get to see players stay at a club for a long time.
However, nomadic players who seemingly make a career out of moving from one club to another are often referred to as mercenaries. Players who are not loyal to the course of the club usually have the tendency to crave for a new adventure when they are unsettled at their current club.
Although we’ve seen legends of the game who remain fervently loyal to their club throughout their playing careers ‘One Club Man‘, which includes Paolo Maldini (Milan), Francesco Totti (Roma), Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes (Manchester United), and Tony Adams(Arsenal).
However, in recent times, it could be difficult for a player to stay ten or fifteen years at a club, although five or six years is practically possible for a player before thinking of a change or moving as the case may be.
Alvaro Morata: The new Journeyman
Juventus completed the loan signing of Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid for €10m for the initial loan and a purchase option of €45m, making his return to Turin where he played between 2014 and 2016 as the teammate of newly appointed Juventus manager Pirlo.
It could be some level of permanent dissatisfaction that has led Morata moving once again to familiar terrain, to pitch his tent with a club he once donned their jersey when he left Real Madrid in 2014.
And since Morata left Madrid, he has played for Juventus, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, and now Juventus again.
The Spaniard ability is undoubted and was obviously duly noted by some of the most respected and successful managers he has played for, likewise the club he turned out for. It’s no doubt that Morata is a clever player, with a decent technique and has an eye for goals on his day.
A whole lot of players have changed club because they feel their current club don’t really appreciate them, or perhaps they want regular playing time, while some changed club just to secure the bag.
However, in Morata’s case, he wouldn’t have thought of complaining of any, because he’s always well celebrated at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.
The former Real Madrid forward is the kind of player that has enjoyed a lot of love from his colleagues in the dressing room with all of the clubs he wore their shirt. Morata seems to be a player that has some kind of ‘Permanent Dissatisfaction‘ someone who feels he hasn’t quite achieved his dreams.
Perhaps that could have been the reason why he jumped at the opportunity of playing for the ‘Old Lady’ again.
As the new Seria A season enters its full gear, hopefully, Morata can find what he’s looking for at Juventus, even rumors have it that he’s been driven to take this next step to Italy out of love.
According to a Spanish sport medium Marca:
“Morata reasons to take this next step is about his love for Pizza and Chips at Lampara and the confidence he has in Andrea Pirlo, being his old teammate, might work miracle for his career”.
According to the report, it’s was said that Pirlo personally requested the signing of Morata, while his difficult relationship with ‘EL Cholo’ reportedly has also played a part in his willingness to leave Atletico Madrid for Juventus.
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By joining the Old Lady, the Spaniard has become the only player in history to leave both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid twice.
Having spent his youthful age at Atletico Madrid, he left for Getafe at the age of 14, following his low chances of getting to play regularly and also felt not appreciated by Los Rojiblancos.
Even the academy Director at the time ‘Jose Maria Amorrortu‘ buttressed the fact that he left based on his own decision that he wanted more opportunities.
Morata has never stayed in any club’s first team for more than two years.
With that let’s take a look at some of the situations or circumstances that are attached to every of his move, that has turned him to a nomadic player.
- Real Madrid To Juventus
Morata prolific form at Getafe was what caught Madrid fancy, which made the Spanish giant snapped him up.
Los Blancos brought him down to the Santiago Bernabeu to play with the U18 team, while in the U18 team he showed a lot of promises and talent which gave him the leverage to be promoted to the first team and was given his debut by former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho in 2012.
Following the exit of Mourinho, there came the era of Carlo Ancelotti. Under the Italian manager, the Spaniard was largely a reserve player and couldn’t get enough playing time which led to his exit to Turin in 2014, where he arguably had his best time and also going on to play in the Champions League final.
Ahead of the 2016-17 season, Real Madrid brought back Morata having exercised their buy-back option on his contract. During that season under the supervision of Zidane, he hit double-figure (20 goals) in over 43 appearances, although he always comes in as a substitute.
- Real Madrid To Chelsea
Having scored a double-digit goal in that season, Morata perhaps feels he could do better if given a starting role at a different club. He moved to Chelsea in 2017 and when he was leaving he said :
“I’m leaving in search of first-team football “, “I can’t see myself coming back for a third time to Real Madrid “.
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- Chelsea To Atletico Madrid
After a season and a half with the London side, Morata moved to Atletico Madrid on loan in 2019 before finally joining Los Rojiblancos permanently for €65m.
Despite joining Diego Simeone led side permanently, Morata wasn’t satisfied with the bit-part role his playing under El Cholo, which led to him leaving Atletico Madrid for the second time just like he did with Real Madrid twice.
The Spaniard settled quite well in the squad, earning the trust and the forgiveness of the fans for his past as a Madrid player, having won the fans to his side, he hit double-figure in the 2019-20 season with 16 goals and 4 assists.
However, he lost his place to Diego Costa after the restart of the league following the pandemic break, a new situation that reportedly triggered his move to Juventus.
- Atletico To Juventus
Morata’s time at Juventus was the best time of his career, starting regularly built his confidence in playing well, as well as winning titles during his time with the Old Lady.
Joining Juventus, he formed a strong partnership with former Juventus forward Carlos Tevez, scoring 15 goals with 7 seven assists to his name. He won the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and narrowly missed out on the Champions League against Barcelona, but showed to his parent club Real Madrid how prolific he could be against them in the semi-final.
Following his exit from Juventus, Morata said “I never should have left Juventus, I came back because of the contractual agreements that had to be respected, but the disappointment was enormous, I had to start again”.
With these statements, it’s a testament to the fact that he was quite happy at Juventus, and going back there now for the second time should rekindle his love for the club, and perhaps help him settle his permanent dissatisfaction.
