NOVEMBER 13 — Atletico Madrid and Spain striker Alvaro Morata has revealed he lost confidence in his abilities during his troubled spell at Chelsea and began to suspect no-one believed in him.

Morata moved to the London club from Real Madrid in 2017 for a reported £70 million (US$89.57 million) but had a torrid time, scoring 16 goals in 47 Premier League games before joining Atletico on an 18-month loan deal in January.

"I had stopped enjoying football but now I’m very happy at Atletico, I had stopped believing in myself,” Morata told Spanish radio programme El Partidazo.

"In England I had the sensation that at certain moments my team mates looked at me in a certain way, with the sensation that I was not going to do anything good.”

The 27-year-old striker also said he broke a mobile phone in frustration due to niggling injuries and his lack of form.

"One day I got a small injury and played a few days later and had a horrible performance, I read messages on my phone telling me not to worry and I threw it against the wall and smashed it,” he said.

"I had never faced such a difficult situation, I told my wife we should go as far away as possible in January because I could not cope with this pressure.

"I had six or seven important offers, Atletico came in for me, Chelsea wanted me to stay but I decided to do what I had wanted to do years before.”

Morata has scored six goals in his last six games for Atletico and helped them to a 3-1 home win over Espanyol on Saturday, taking his side up to third in La Liga, one point behind leaders Barcelona and second-placed Real Madrid. — Reuters