One of Atletico Madrid’s standout players this season has been Alvaro Morata. The 31-year-old has been excellent for club and country, but especially so in the Rojiblanco colours, where he has scored 12 goals in all competitions (seven in La Liga, five in the Champions League).
Morata came into this campaign under pressure to keep his place in the Atleti team, but he has proved the doubters wrong in recent months. Alongside Antoine Griezmann, he has caused many problems, and that could be the case again on Sunday against Barcelona at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
If things had transpired differently, Morata could have been playing on the opposite side on Sunday. Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez revealed in his pre-match press conference (via MD) that he spoke with the Spain captain in the past about the possibility of joining the Blaugrana.
“I spoke directly with him, and the possibility of him coming to Barcelona was on the table. He is a very generous player, who sacrifices a lot and I personally like him a lot. Tomorrow, we will have two very strong forwards in front of us.”
Barcelona and Xavi would probably love to have Morata at this moment in time, given his excellent form and Robert Lewandowski’s lack thereof. They will be determined to keep him and the rest of the Atletico Madrid players quiet on Sunday.
