Former Liverpool and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has announced he will retire from playing football.
The 35-year-old has been playing in Japan for Sagan Tosu since ending a second spell with Atletico Madrid in 2018, but will bow out after nearly two decades at the top.
Affectionately known as El Nino, he joined Liverpool in 2007 and formed a telepathic understanding with captain Steven Gerrard, netting 81 times and become a firm fan favourite among the Kop.
He would move to Chelsea in a controversial switch for £50million in 2011 and while he never hit the heights he reached at Anfield in terms of performances, he boosted his trophy cabinet considerably, winning the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.
After 18 exciting years, the time has come to put an end to my football career,” he tweeted.
talkSPORT.com takes a look at some of the best and worst from Torres’ incredible career.
Ally McCoist and Laura Woodsy cannot stop the laughs at another puntastic Football XI
Torres signed his first professional contract with the club as a 15-year-old and quickly progressed through their ranks and by the age of 19, he had been named club captain. Chelsea showed early interest in 2006, which would prove to be his final season, as he netted 91 times in 22 matches.
The Spaniard eventually moved to the Premier League in the summer of 2007 and quickly settled, scoring the opener against Chelsea on his Anfield debut before following up with a treble against Reading in the League Cup.
During the season, he would enhance his reputation as one of the world’s most proficient strikers and his 33 goals in all competitions earned him a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
Torres took his Liverpool form onto the International stage, where Spain where emerging as a genuine force after years of underachieving.
He set up Spain’s first goal of the tournament, scored by David Villa, then netted in a 2-1 win over Sweden.
In the final against Germany, Torres executed a wonderful chipped finish over Jens Lehmann as Spain held on to win 1-0 and claim their first trophy, ushering in a new era of dominance.
Depending on how you look at this, Torres either made a major error leaving Liverpool or a great decision based on silverware.
True, he was never the same, dynamic prolific forward he once was. He was jeered on his home debut against his former club and would not find the net for 903 minutes, before breaking his duck against West Ham.
But, he did become a Champions League winner and won more medals than he did at Liverpool.
Chelsea had been pummelled all afternoon by Manchester United and were 3-1 down, Torres scoring the consolation.
However, his miss was the game’s talking point, as he squandered a wonderful chance to add his second after he rounded David De Gea, but fired horribly wide into the Stretford End, which summed up how his time with the Blues was going.
He would score in October, but would then have to wait a further 24 games before netting twice against Championship side Leicester in the FA Cup.
Undoubtedly the moment every Chelsea fan will always remember Torres for.
With the Blues trailing 2-1 in the match and down to 10 men, the pressure from Barcelona was relentless and it looked very much like another final appearance would elude Chelsea.
With Barcelona camped in Chelsea’s penalty box, they were left exposed at the back and substitute Torres ran clear after latching onto a clearance, before calmly rounding Victor Valdes to finish and send his side through to Munich.
Another European Championships, another Torres contribution. The Chelsea forward claimed the Golden Boot that summer as Spain defended their title they won four years earlier.
Torres took the award by virtue of having provided one assist and his goals coming in just 189 minutes of playing time, despite six other players netting the same number of goals.
El Nino played for six months at the San Siro, netting only one goal during his 10-game spell and looked a shadow of the player who burst onto the scene with Atletico and then Liverpool years earlier.
A loan move to boyhood club Atletico Madrid saw Torres’ career come full circle as he returned to the place he made his name.
While it was first considered a move based on nostalgia, he quickly showed glimpses of his old magic and even started in the 2016 Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Click Here: Sports Water Bottles