Scoring for fun as he leads the Chelsea attack, Alvaro Morata is now established as one of the most deadly strikers in the world. Lightning fast and unerringly accurate in front of goal, the 24-year-old has torn apart defences across England's top flight just as he had previously done in Spain.
Born in the nation's capital and a product of the Real Madrid cantera, the La Liga giants are credited with producing such a star, but in truth the Morata we now see at Stamford Bridge was moulded in Turin.
Prior to joining Juventus, he found himself way down the pecking order at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, star-studded attacking options including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and even Gonzalo Higuain that made playing time incredibly scarce.
His debut came way back in December 2010, but the following four seasons would see him score 10 goals in 37 leagues appearances, all but eight of which came as a substitute. In order to speed up his development, a deal was struck for him to join Juventus in the summer of 2014, a move those who watched him regularly during those tentative early years recognised was perhaps exactly what he needed.
"I think he was too timid and didn't really understand what was required to compete at the top," Spanish football expert David Cartlidge told Bleacher Report. "He was soft in a way, and naive about playing at the very top. Going to Juve meant growing up, living outside of a bubble young Real Madrid and Barcelona players can get stuck in. They're adored, pampered and kind of big men in their own circles."
It was clear that would not be the case in Italy. Morata was barely known in Serie A circles, while the Bianconeri boasted a plethora of veteran players that would not allow an unproven youngster to become a victim of his own ego.
He would not be handed a starting berth quickly. Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri instead opted to pair Carlos Tevez with Fernando Llorente, with the new arrival forced to wait until November 1 for his full debut.
He would score in that clash with Empoli, and as the calendar flipped to 2015, Morata supplanted Llorente—who also became his closest friend at the club—in Allegri's first-choice XI. His pace and direct approach made him the perfect foil for Tevez's tenacious energy and led to him learning everything he needed to know about leading the line for one of Europe's biggest clubs.
Carlos Tevez became a mentor to Alvaro Morata. GIUSEPPE CACACE/Getty Images
"Carlos Tevez often tells me that Italy is like university for strikers," Morata said in a February 2015 interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia). "He's right, as here you become a real player in every aspect. This is a unique opportunity for me."
Morata would seize that chance with both hands, and while Serie A may have been new to him, it would be in the UEFA Champions League where he would make his biggest impact. A goal in each leg of the last-16 tie with Borussia Dortmund helped Juve progress to the quarter-finals, and there he won the penalty—converted by Arturo Vidal—that saw the Bianconeri eliminate AS Monaco 1-0 on aggregate.
Fate would then pit Juventus against Morata's former club in the semi-finals, and the hometown hero once again found the back of the net in each leg. He had fired the Old Lady to her first final in the competition in 12 years, and while he did not celebrate against Real Madrid, a goal in the showpiece event against Barca would see him rejoice emphatically.
Sadly it was not enough as the Catalan side ran out 3-1 winners, but the summer break did little to slow down Morata's progress. He struck against Manchester City and Sevilla to become only the second Juve player to ever net in five consecutive Champions League fixtures.
As the tweet above highlights, that placed him in exalted company, but he would soon experience the other side of life as a big-name striker the following season. Morata would go 20 club appearances without a goal, lacking confidence and losing his place in the side to Mario Mandzukic.
Yet if playing with Tevez had taught him one thing, it was to never quit. He kept fighting even when he fell out of favour, and as the campaign drew to a close he bounced back with crucial goals against Inter Milan, Fiorentina and Juve's crosstown rivals Torino that helped secure a fifth consecutive Serie A title.
His class was also proved in the Champions League, with the Bianconeri collapsing against Bayern Munich when Morata was substituted in the second leg of their last-16 clash. The Coppa Italia final against AC Milan allowed him to underline his big-game prowess too as he netted the only goal to clinch a second consecutive league-and-cup double.
Sadly that proved to be his final contribution to the club. Morata returned to Real Madrid in the summer of 2016 when they exercised the buy-back clause in the initial deal.
Receiving just €30 million, the Bianconeri were widely criticised for that original agreement, but without it there was simply no way a player of Morata's calibre would have been allowed to join the Old Lady in the first place.
"Directors Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici leveraged Juventus' excellent relationship with Real Madrid to get a deal done," David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com explained to Bleacher Report. "However, they weren't able to dissuade the Spanish club from their firm position of having a buy back clause, which has continued to be their standard stance when it comes to their best prospects.
"The bottom line is Morata would have never played for Juventus without the buy-back clause, and because the Spanish striker had such a strong bond with the Bianconeri that he never seriously considered joining Napoli and Milan in 2016 and 2017, respectively."
Juve were powerless to stop Alvaro Morata returning to Real Madrid. CURTO DE LA TORRE/Getty Images
Yet despite the minimal outlay, there was little doubt the Morata who returned to the Bernabeu was a vastly superior player to the raw youngster who left, netting 15 goals despite making just 14 league starts.
"When he came back, he was more mature, wiser and it just felt like he'd grown up," Cartlidge said. "More pointedly, he was aware of his surroundings and what was needed. At Juventus he found out how to be in a team, a squad, as a key member.
"If he hadn't gone, I don't know where he'd be now. Maybe floundering somewhere, trying to scratch together a career. Look at Munir (El Haddadi). He hung around Barca too long, then only went to Valencia when it was too late. He's now at Alaves, basically an unknown."
That could have been Morata, but instead he was a highly regarded and widely coveted star, one who moved to Chelsea for £58 million this past summer and who remains beloved among the Bianconeri faithful.
"Morata endeared himself to us all with his work ethic and flair," Juve fan John Cascarano told Bleacher Report. "He is that rare striker who can run, play off the ball, score in big moments and create almost equally well, doing so from anywhere in the front line with aplomb. But his talent was not the end of it. Though so young, he always seemed wise beyond his years: poised, mature, and generally appreciative to wear the black and white. That dreaded buy-back clause came back to haunt us, but I will always reflect fondly upon his time here."
That is the general consensus, and it appears the feeling is reciprocated by the man himself. In a note on his personal website (h/t Football Italia) shortly after leaving Juve, Morata thanked Allegri "for believing in me and for turning me into a better footballer," and his team-mates, as well as the club's fans "for their unconditional love and support."
He ended by saying that "wherever I go I'll always feel like a Juventino and I'll be able to say with pride and in a loud voice that I wore the Juventus colours and that I was one of their champions." He was, and now, as he shines in the blue shirt of Chelsea, it should be remembered that while Alvaro Morata was born in Madrid, he was unquestionably made in Turin.
