Alvaro Morata left in limbo over his Real Madrid future after having heart set on Manchester United switch
Sponsored by
ALVARO MORATA has been left in no-man's land after Manchester United pulled out of a deal to sign the Spain forward.
But it is now emerging the 24-year-old has been in the middle of a price war between Europe's wealthiest clubs.
Real Madrid ace Morata had his heart set on a switch to Old Trafford, but the club opted to sign Romelu Lukaku instead and have claimed to have agreed a £75million fee with Everton.
The 24-year-old had expected to be in a United tracksuit by this weekend and packing his bags to travel on their pre-season tour to the United States.
But Ed Woodward's bid for Lukaku has left Morata in limbo, with Real Madrid reportedly asking upwards of £88m for their back-up forward as a starting price, which United tried to knock down.
Morata has been desperate to get more first-team football and secure his place in the Spain squad for next summer's World Cup in Russia.
, Real Madrid know that if United end interest in Morata, they will only get a maximum of £66m from Chelsea rather than the giant sum they wanted.
And according to Marca, the two sides were separated by only 5million Euros - or £4.4m.
MAN UTD TRANSFER NEWS
It surely shows the European champions were greedily trying to squeeze every penny possible out of United for a player they did not even consider a first choice, even though Woodward had offered around £70m plus add-ons.
But Real under-estimated the fact that United had other options in Lukaku, who United have made their move for.
Chelsea remain interested in Morata and could be forced to make a bid for him, with Antonio Conte dissatisfied over the lack of transfer activity at Stamford Bridge.
And he had been sold on United by Mourinho, who gave him his Los Blancos debut when the Portuguese was in charge between 2010 and 2013.
However, United and Morata have both been frustrated by the European champions' stance as they refused to budge on a high valuation.
Morata got married last month and has been on holiday with his partner while his father met with Real to try and push through the move.
