Liverpool tie up €30m Torres deal
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Article summary
Fernando Torres has become the most expensive Spanish player in history after joining Liverpool FC from Club Atlético de Madrid for an initial €30m transfer fee.
Article body
Liverpool FC have completed the signing of Spain striker Fernando Torres from Club Atlético de Madrid for an initial €30m - a club record fee that could reportedly rise even higher.
No9 dream
The 23-year-old, who has been given the No9 shirt previously filled by Anfield legends Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler, has agreed a six-year deal and becomes the most expensive Spanish player in history. "Liverpool is one of the best, if not the best, clubs in Europe," he said. "The fact Liverpool are giving me the No9 jersey goes to show the confidence they have in me, when considering those who have worn it before." Torres has spent the last 12 years with his hometown club Atlético, becoming their youngest debutant in May 2001 aged 17.
Youth prodigy
Torres was top scorer at the UEFA European Under-16 Championship in 2001 and the U19 version a year later as Spain claimed both titles. The forward then became Atlético's youngest captain when he was 19 and went on to make 214 Primera División appearances, scoring 84 goals. In a farewell press conference he vowed to return to Atlético one day, saying "my heart will always be Rojiblanco". The Madrid team finished seventh last season, as high as they have managed during Torres's time at the Estadio Vicente Calderón. His international breakthrough came against Portugal in September 2003, with Torres now boasting 42 caps and 14 goals for his country.
High praise
New Liverpool team-mate Xabi Alonso, a fellow Spanish international, said: "He is a brilliant player. He has already demonstrated his enormous quality and to have him in the team would be brilliant." Liverpool, UEFA Champions League runners-up in May, will begin the coming European campaign in August's third qualifying round where Torres could get his first taste of the competition. The Premier League side sold midfielder Luis García to Atlético yesterday, while they have also secured the services of PFC Levski Sofia goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov and teenage Hungarian forwards Krisztián Németh and András Simon - all on three-year contracts.
