Agent: Morata turned down move to Arsenal before joining Juve

Agent: Morata turned down move to Arsenal before joining Juve

Published Apr. 3, 2015 2:03 p.m. ET

Alvaro Morata's intermediary has revealed the striker turned down a move to Arsenal before joining Juventus.

The Spain international left Real Madrid in the summer of 2014 to sign a five-year deal with the Serie A champions. And his intermediary has told Tuttosport that Morata chose the Bianconeri over Arsenal and Wolfsburg, both of whom were offering more money.

"Exactly, but Alvaro had seen first-hand what Juventus were offering him," said Giuseppe Bozzo. "That's the way he is. I know him well. He's very determined, he's got courage and guts. He is not a hypocrite, he says what he thinks, and he does not sit on the fence.

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"Real did not want to sell him, and then they wanted to sell him to other clubs which were offering more, looking to overtake Juve. But Alvaro is stubborn, there's always one word that counts, and that's his. He proved it, he said, 'I want to go to Juve', and (the move to) Juve was done, despite all Real's pressure."

The 22-year-old has already been linked with a move away from Turin after scoring some important goals for Juventus in recent months. But Bozzo says his client has no plans to leave Juve, even for Real Madrid, who reportedly inserted a clause in his contract when he was sold that would give them first refusal to buy him back.

"A few days ago he said in an interview in Spain that he's fine at Juve, that he isn't thinking of returning to Madrid and wants to continue to grow with Juve," said Bozzo. "He also said that he would pay to win the Champions League with Juventus, and those are exactly his thoughts. He's said similar things to me too.

"He's tough, Alvaro, he's not afraid of anything. Juve is his obsession. Now that he's also making his mark with the national team he's becoming an idol of all Spaniards, not just fans in Madrid. But no club, not even one as powerful as Real, would spend so much money to bring back a player who doesn't want to move."

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