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What’s the story?
The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres today announced his retirement from football. The Spaniard was plying his trade in Japan, playing for Sagan Tosu, since leaving his boyhood club Atletico Madrid .
In case you didn’t know…
Torres was one of the most lethal strikers in the world during his time at Anfield and scored 81 goals across four seasons with Liverpool and also won the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup with Chelsea.
The Spaniard was also an instrumental part of the Spanish squad that lifted the World Cup in 2010. His achievements also include the Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 that he won, while playing for La Roja. He was also the Golden Boot winner at Euro 2012, which was held in Poland and Ukraine.
The heart of the matter
Fernando Torres announced his retirement from football through a tweet which read:
“I have something very important to announce. After 18 exciting years, the time has come to put an end to my football career.”
"Next Sunday, the 23rd at 10:00AM, local time in Japan, I will have a press conference in Tokyo to explain all the details.See you there."
His former clubs Liverpool and Chelsea both wished the Spaniard well in retirement, tweeting video highlights of his goals for their respective sides.
After breaking through at hometown club Atlético, Torres moved to Liverpool in July 2007 and scored 24 Premier League goals in his maiden season in England. Moving on, he made a £50m deadline day switch to Chelsea in January 2011 and stunned the entirety of English football with his decision.
Despite not having the best of times in London with Chelsea, Torres was the one who scored a late goal against Barcelona in April 2012 to send the Blues to the Champions League final which they eventually won as they defeated Bayern Munich.
The Spaniard moved to Milan on loan from Chelsea and ultimately left for his boyhood club Atletico Madrid where he spent his final years of European football before moving to Japan last year.
