Atletico Madrid forward Alvaro Morata has revealed that Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez was keen on taking him to the Camp Nou earlier this year.
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According to the 29-year-old, Barca were keen on acquiring his services in the January transfer window, which was Xavi's first as manager of the Blaugrana, with the tactician seemingly keen on remedying what appeared to be a disjointed attack by bringing in Morata.
With the striker being a Juventus player at the time, the Bianconeri were not eager to let him leave halfway through the season as they were competing for a UEFA Champions League spot.
"I had options to sign for Barca," Morata said in an interview with Cadena Ser.
"I went to speak to [Juve manager Massimiliano] Allegri and he told me no, he wanted me to stay and play with [Dusan] Vlahovic.
"Xavi called me, and we talked about football. It's an honour that someone like Xavi is interested in you.
"He convinced me with his speech. I watched him play when I was a kid."
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Having failed in their pursuit of Morata, Barca signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang instead, and the return on that investment was immediate as the Gabonese forward finished as the club's top goalscorer in the 2021/22 season with 13 strikes.
Now the Catalan giants are enjoying the exploits of Robert Lewandowski, who has hit the ground running since completing his move from Bayern Munich in July, scoring eight goals in his opening six LaLiga games.
Morata, meanwhile, has also had a decent start to the 2022/23 season, having found the back of the net three times in six games for Los Rojiblancos so far.
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