Tuesday 29 January 2019 18:02, UK
Alvaro Morata felt it was his "destiny" to return to boyhood club Atletico Madrid after signing an 18-month loan deal from Chelsea on Monday.
The 26-year-old was a member of Atletico's academy, but started his professional career at Real Madrid before moving to Juventus in 2014.
The Spain striker then returned to Real two years later before securing a £57m move to Chelsea in July 2017.
However, Morata struggled during his 18 months at Chelsea, and moved to Atletico on loan after scoring five times in 16 Premier League games for the Blues.
"My life has taken many detours, but it was destiny that I would arrive here," Morata told reporters at his presentation on Tuesday, according to marca.com.
"I'm really proud to be back at this club, it's my childhood team, I have so many happy memories, it means a lot to be here."
Despite last playing in Spain for city rivals Real, Morata insisted there was only one destination for him once Atletico's interest became clear.
He added: "Everything else stopped when Atleti appeared. Everything that has happened before is history, I'm here now and everything appears very beautiful."
Morata will have two years left on his Chelsea deal by the end of the 2019-20 season, when the loan ends, but it is unlikely he will play for the club again.
His departure after 18 months, featuring 24 goals in 72 appearances, 24 of them as a substitute, had been telegraphed for some time and Gonzalo Higuain's arrival on loan last week effectively sealed his move.
Morata was signed by Chelsea as Diego Costa's replacement - now the 26-year-old has followed Costa to the Wanda Metropolitano.
Arguably Morata's best performance for Chelsea came in their 2-1 win at Atletico, weeks into his first season and the day after Costa's return to Madrid had been finalised.
Morata was asked about being a rival to Costa for a place in Diego Simeone's team.
"Diego, aside from being a team-mate, is a great player, I consider him a friend," he added.
"It's always easy to play with great players. I now need to show what I can do on the pitch, that's where I have to do my talking."
