Alvaro Morata has banished his Premier League struggles to nothing but a distant memory with his career hitting new heights at the age of 30.
Finding his stride as he enters his fourth decade, Morata has scored five goals across five LaLiga outings so far this season, including a brace in Atletico Madrid's 3-1 win over his former club and their fiercest rivals Real Madrid at the weekend.
That form comes in addition to the ex-Juventus forward smashing home a hat-trick for Spain in their latest Euro 2024 qualifier after being handed the armband by new boss Luis de la Fuente – as he finally lives up to the expectations of his early career.
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Morata came through the youth academy at Real Madrid after spells with Atletico and Getafe and made 52 first-team appearances before scoring 27 goals across 93 games with Juventus.
A single season back at the Bernabeu included 20 goals in all competitions as Chelsea came calling with a then club-record fee of £60million and a bumper five-year contract.
His time in England got off to a bad start with a missed penalty in the 2017 Community Shield shootout against Arsenal – although he did managed 15 goals across all competitions including a hat-trick against Stoke and capped off the season with FA Cup glory.
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His second season began with goals against Arsenal and a brace against Crystal Palace – but he would be back in Spain come January with Atletico, after losing the faith of fans.
A respectable 22 goals followed across an 18 month loan before a second stint with Juventus, which was brought to an end after two seasons that included 20 and 12 goals respectively.
That loan spell, in which he failed to add to the two La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues he won with Real and five trophies of his first Serie A spell – led to 15 goals but enough for Diego Simeone to want him back in his XI.
It has taken only five games to match a third of that tally in 2023/24, with his brace against Real Madrid one of the highlights of his time at the Metropolitano Stadium.
His career was boosted by the decision of De la Fuente to make him Spain captain back in March, with his international tally extended to 33 goals across 66 games with a treble against Georgia earlier this month.
Speaking of the secret to his recent success after two headed goals in the derby, Morata told DAZN: "What I need is to feel important and this year, maybe I feel more important than in other years. I hope we keep winning because I really want to win a title with Atletico.
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"I'm very happy for all the fans, I said it the other day … that the fans are going to have the most important role, and that's how it was. We're all together, us on the pitch and them in the stands."
Off the pitch Morata looks just as content, often posing for grinning snaps on social media with wife Alice Campello as well as their three sons and daughter.
The forward is back in action for Atletico in a trip to take on Osasuna on Thursday evening (September 18) as he battles Robert Lewandowski and Jude Bellingham in the top scorer charts.
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