Manchester United have been given huge encouragement in their pursuit of Alvaro Morata after the Real Madrid striker ruled out joining AC Milan this summer.
Morata, 24, has been heavily linked with a move away from Madrid for the second time in his career after struggling to establish himself as a first-team regular under Zinedine Zidane this season.
Madrid only re-signed Morata from Juventus last summer but reports had emerged claiming Milan would wrap up a deal to sign the Spain international after fending off competition from Chelsea and United.
However, those reports now appear to be wide of the mark after Morata used the club’s Champions League celebrations to rule out a summer switch to Milan.
While this will only encourage United and Chelsea in their pursuit of the striker, the Premier League duo will still have to convince Morata to leave his boyhood club.
“I feel like we won the Champions League, but I’m also sorry, because all these [Juve] people are in my heart,” he told Mediaset Premium, via Football Espana after Madrid’s 4-1 win over his former club on Saturday night.
“I was in their position two years ago and I compliment Juve, as they had a great Champions League campaign. All these people will always be in my heart. It’s really difficult for me.
“Milan? No, I certainly won’t be in Italy. I want to continue here and it’s difficult. I can only tell yu what I read in the papers, I know nothing else.
“I like Italy, but I am happy here. Madrid is my team and my city. I always said Juve is my second home. You never know.”
Morata only managed 14 league starts this season but he has been a regular contributor for Zidane when called upon. In fact, he arguably deserved more game time after enjoying his best ever season in terms of goals scored.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (25) scored more league goals for Madrid this season than Morata (15), while only Lionel Messi (1 every 76.5 minutes of action) required fewer minutes per goal of those that scored at least five times in La Liga this season (Morata - 1 every 88.7 minutes of action).
For more stats on Alvaro Morata, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
