Liverpool news: Fernando Torres claims Reds unfairly portrayed him as a 'traitor' after £50m Chelsea switch
The Spaniard scored 65 goals in 102 league appearances for the Anfield club
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fernando Torres has suggested he was portrayed as a “traitor” by Liverpool when he joined Chelsea for £50m in 2011.
The Spaniard scored 65 goals in 102 league appearances for the Anfield club but, in a new book by Simon Hughes entitled Ring of Fire: Liverpool FC Into the 21st Century, he opens up on the events which led to his acrimonious Merseyside exit.
It was reported at the time that Torres requested to leave Liverpool and forced the five-time European Cup winners into corner in pursuit of a lucrative switch to Stamford Bridge, something the 32-year-old Atletico Madrid striker now denies.
He said: “It was presented as if I was a traitor. It was not like this in the discussion.
“Liverpool could not admit they were doing something wrong with the whole team. They had to find a guilty one.”
The club was sold to Fenway Sports Group the previous October with Damien Comolli later being appointed as director of football heralding a complete change in transfer strategy.
“Comolli told me that the new owners, they had an idea of how to spend their investment. They wanted to bring in young players, to build something new. I was thinking to myself, this takes time to work. It takes two, three, four, maybe even 10 years.
“I didn't have that time. I was 27 years old. I did not have time to wait. I wanted to win. Here we are five years later and they are still trying to build - around the same position in the league as when I left.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments