Alvaro Morata: Atletico Madrid striker reveals who is to blame for failed move to Barcelona

• Alvaro Morata has confirmed that he indeed wanted to move to Barcelona but Juventus blocked the transfer
• The striker was in the middle of a two-year loan spell at Juventus from Atletico Madrid when he was linked with the Blaugrana
• He confirmed that he was called by Xavi and they had a discussion on a possible transfer
• Barcelona have since signed Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich to bolster their attack

Alvaro Morata was very close to a move to Barcelona in January, but Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri blocked the move.

The Spanish striker was in the middle of a two-year loan deal at Juventus from Atletico Madrid when Barcelona, who were in dire need of a striker, came calling.

Xavi reportedly had a conversation with Morata about making what would be an infamous move to Barcelona, which would likely have angered Real Madrid fans.

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Morata recently opened up on the botched transfer as he shed more light on why everything broke down.

“It’s true, there was interest from Barcelona,” Morata told Cadena Ser. “Xavi called me, we talked about football, about everything. It was a pleasure, I appreciated that a former player like Xavi was counting on me, it made me feel good.

“I had four or five good opportunities, but Allegri blocked everything. He was clear: ‘I want you to stay, I want to see you play with [Dusan] Vlahovic’. It was an effort for me to play on the left, but I did it.”

Morata ended up staying at Juventus, and Barcelona made a move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had fallen out of favor at Arsenal.

The Spaniard remained at Juventus where he managed 12 goals in 48 appearances in the 2021/22 campaign.

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He made his return to Atleti this season where he has made a fairly impressive start, notching in three goals in his first six games.

After a fairly impressive second half of the season at Barca for Aubameyang, the Gabon international ended up moving back to the Premier League, joining Chelsea in a €12 million deal.

Monza terminates Rannochia’s contract

Elsewhere, Newly promoted Serie A side Monza have parted ways with Inter Milan legend Andrea Ranocchia, barely three months after he joined the club.

The ex-Inter man joined Monza on a free transfer but his career with his new club took a nosedive after he sprained his ankle and sustained a fracture to the fibula in the 4-0 defeat to Napoli.

On Wednesday, September 21, Monza released a statement announcing Rannochia had been let go by mutual consent.