Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata admitted he struggled to deal with his World Cup exclusion and confirmed he considered leaving Stamford Bridge.
Morata joined the Blues from Real Madrid in a €65m deal last summer but struggled for form in the second half of the campaign and was excluded from Spain’s World Cup squad.
The striker is now back in the fold under new Spain Coach Luis Enrique ahead of Saturday night’s UEFA Nations League clash with England.
“I found it hard to come to terms with not being able to go to the World Cup,” Morata told reporters, as cited by Marca.
“It was a really hard time for me, but it is not worth me dwelling on the past and speak about these difficult moments.
“It was my biggest dream and instead I had to watch the games on the TV and yes it was a hard time…a really difficult time.
“Last year I was not happy, everything was a disaster – I went out onto the pitch and did not know where I was.
“Leaving Chelsea? I considered playing in Spain again and going back to Italy but now I have stayed here and need to bounce back.”