Spain and France are about to clash in the European Championship semi-finals, but Spanish captain Morata has been caught in a media storm due to his own remarks. In an interview, Morata hinted at feeling disrespected in his home country, leading him to consider leaving the national team, sparking a major controversy.
On Monday, the influential Spanish newspaper *Mundo Deportivo* published an interview with Morata. In the interview, the 31-year-old Morata talked about how he felt exhausted by the criticism and pressure he faced, saying that it might prompt him to retire from the national team after the European Championship. Although Morata did not dwell on this topic excessively, he clearly stated his uncertainty about staying with the national team or even playing in Spain. Morata said: “It’s hard for me to feel happy in Spain, our media don’t respect anyone or anything, it’s a huge feeling of exhaustion.” Morata also expressed his suspicion that some people were hoping he wouldn’t play in the match after UEFA mistakenly believed he would be suspended due to a yellow card.
In response to Morata’s comments, Spanish media outlets almost unanimously condemned his remarks, arguing that as the national team captain, making inappropriate statements before a crucial match creates significant anxiety and disrupts the team’s preparation. Cope radio journalist Partidaso criticized directly: “Morata has once again become the direct trigger for turning the national team into the center of a media storm.” *Marca* and Relevo, among other media outlets, also followed up on the story.
This is not the first time Morata has publicly expressed feeling unfairly treated. Before the start of the European Championship, Morata complained about excessive criticism from the outside world in an interview with Cadena SER. Morata said: “The easiest thing for me would be to go play abroad. My kids are already five years old and they often don’t understand why some people are so angry at their father. Especially last summer, the easiest way to solve the problem was for me to leave Atlético Madrid. I received better contract offers, but I had a dream of helping Atlético win more trophies, so I stayed. I want to see people’s reaction to our games and victories, that’s important.”
This article is from a user submission and does not represent the views of Soccer News Pick. If you repost it, please indicate the source: https://www.soccernewspick.com/uefa-european-championship/7793.html
