Liverpool's devastating striker at his peak and Spain's World Cup and Euro-winning centre-forward.
Fernando Jose Torres Sanz was born in Fuenlabrada, Madrid in 1984 and joined Atletico Madrid's youth academy at 11. He captained Atletico's first team at 19 — the youngest captain in the club's history — and scored 91 goals in 244 appearances before Liverpool signed him for £20 million in 2007. His two and a half seasons at Anfield were among the finest by any striker in Premier League history — 81 goals in 142 appearances, including 33 league goals in 2008-09, winning the FWA Footballer of the Year. Chelsea paid a British record £50 million in January 2011 and while his Stamford Bridge years were less spectacular, he won the Champions League (2012) and Europa League (2013). He earned 110 Spain caps, scoring 38 goals, winning the 2008 and 2012 European Championships — scoring the only goal of the 2008 final — and the 2010 World Cup. He returned to Atletico on loan in 2015 and permanently in 2016, contributing the crucial away goal against Chelsea in the 2016 Champions League semi-final. After retirement he took his UEFA coaching badges and became Atletico's under-19 head coach.
FIFA World Cup 2010
Career Honours
- FIFA World Cup 2010
- UEFA Euro 2008, 2012
- Champions League 2012 (Chelsea)
- Europa League 2010, 2012 (Atlético), 2013 (Chelsea)
- Europa League 2018 (Atlético)