Steven Gerrard was convinced one Liverpool teammate would win the Ballon d'Or but he never achieved the feat
Steven Gerrard was convinced one of his esteemed Liverpool teammates would win the Ballon d'Or but he never achieved the feat during his distinguished career.
Gerrard enjoyed a legendary career at Liverpool, famously winning the Champions League in 2005.
He played with some elite players, including Fernando Torres who joined from Atletico Madrid for a believed £20 million in the summer of 2007.
Torres made an instant impression as he scored an impressive 33 goals in 46 games for the Reds in his debut season following his transfer.
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He was a revelation in the Premier League after forging an unstoppable on-field relationship with Gerrard.
Despite Torres' goal-scoring exploits, he didn't win the 2008 Ballon d'Or, with Cristiano Ronaldo edging out the Spaniard to the prestigious individual award.
But Gerrard was convinced Torres would win the coveted prize.
So much so, he kept telling him that he will win it following his performances in the 2007/08 campaign.
Speaking to Simon Hughes in his book Ring of Fire: Liverpool FC into the 21st century via The Anfield Wrap, Torres said: "Stevie kept telling me, 'Don’t worry, you will win it for sure'. He told me that like he really thought it. I thought he was crazy!
"I never once thought I’d be good enough to get invited to a gala like this. His words expressed how he felt about me at the club and the performance levels I was reaching with the help of the support.
"He told me I could be the best in the world and I realised this is the feeling everybody in Liverpool had about me. They made me feel anything was possible, that everything was real."
Torres' goals for Liverpool didn't go completely unnoticed as he finished in third place in the 2008 Ballon d'Or rankings.
He received 179 points in the voting, eventually finishing behind winner Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Torres, who scored 81 goals in a Liverpool shirt, spent three-and-a-half years at Anfield before sealing a move to Chelsea in January 2011.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Liverpool, Football
Nasir Jabbar