Alvaro Morata confirms Atletico Madrid stay – “I can’t imagine what it must be like to win in this shirt” | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid and Spain number nine Alvaro Morata has confirmed that he will be staying at the club this summer, despite hefty offers from Saudi Arabia. The 32-year-old was reportedly considering an exit for the third summer in a row, but again has opted to stay.

Morata had said earlier this month that he would leave the club if he was ‘not a priority’, and was on the verge of a move to Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, who were willing to offer him a contract worth €50m. Yet a late plea from Diego Simeone to both the player and the club appears to have got through to him.

Leaving a disbelieving Al-Qadsiah at the altar, Morata posted on Instagram that “I can’t imagine what it must be like to win in this shirt and I won’t stop until I achieve it.”

A forward had been near the top of Atletico’s priorities for this summer, with plenty of talk over an exit for Morata, and reported negotiations with Girona for Artem Dovbyk. Memphis Depay has left, but Samu Omorodion is returning from his loan at Alaves, and it is not yet clear whether they will still pursue another striker, given it would stiff competition for minutes were another classic number nine to arrive.