The Spanish striker insists he is happy in Turin and says the atmosphere - and lack of egos - at the club makes it feel like "a big family"

Alvaro Morata has hailed his Juventus team-mates for their humility and approachability in a thinly-veiled attack at his former Real Madrid colleagues.

The Spanish striker joined the Old Lady from the European champions in a €20 million transfer in the summer of 2014, but Madrid retain an option to resign Morata at a later date.

Yet the 22-year-old has expressed his thanks to Juventus for injecting his game with self-belief after he suffered a crisis of confidence in the Spanish capital, and has praised the more humble atmosphere in the Juve ranks.

"I don't want to leave Juventus. This club brought me back to life because last year I had no confidence. We're not a team here, but a big family," he told Tuttosport.

"At Juventus, there is no one in the dressing room that feels more important, even if he has been a World Cup winner and is a football legend. Here you go to eat with everyone, talk to everyone, and lead a normal life.

"For me it was amazing being able to talk about something with Gianluigi Buffon, or with Andrea Pirlo. It impresses me to think that they give me a hand with everything. They helped me so much to settle in well."

He added that one player in particular has left a major impression on him since arriving at Juventus Stadium.

"Pirlo is an amazing guy, very different to the image he has of being a calm, quiet person," he said. "After our training sessions he always stays on and practises some free kicks, so I try to stay and observe him, trying to learn something."

Morata had a difficult start to life in Italy, suffering a serious knee injury in his first training session, and he has thanked the club for helping him to make a quick comeback - as well as putting his initial fears to rest.

"In the summer when I got injured, it was frightening. I was afraid I might be out for seven or eight months, but luckily it wasn't that serious in the end.

"The medics did a great job, along with my mental strength. Here in Italy we work more on physical condition, so the first two months were really hard for me."

The striker is now part of a Juventus side challenging on three fronts. The Bianconeri are 14 points clear at the top of Serie A and have booked a Coppa Italia final clash with Lazio, while they remain in the hunt for the Champions League with a two-legged quarter-final against Monaco due to begin on Tuesday.

And Morata believes the victory over Borussia Dortmund in the round-of-16 has shown that Juve have what it takes to compete for the European crown.

"The Champions League is going to be very hard, but our strength is to be a solid group. We'd definitely need some luck, too.

"But Atletico Madrid won La Liga and almost won the Champions League. If they did them so can we. With the Dortmund win we sent a message to all of Europe."