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Fernando Torres Wants To Retire At Atletico Madrid

Fernando Torres Wants To Retire At Atletico Madrid

He's outlined his plans.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Fernando Torres has expressed his desire to remain at Atletico Madrid for the rest of his career, and retire at the club.

Atleti are Torres' boyhood club, with the Spaniard coming through the youth ranks and later making his first-team debut in 2001. During his first spell at the Vicente Calderon, the World Cup winner scored 91 goals and quickly established himself as one of the hottest strikers around - before then going on to bigger and better things when he made the switch to English football.


In 2007, Torres joined Liverpool in a £20 million deal that saw Luis Garcia move in the opposite direction, and 'El Nino' would go on to light up Anfield, notching 81 goals in 142 appearances in all competitions.

His decision to join Chelsea, where he ultimately struggled, for a British record transfer fee of £50 million on 31 January 2011 severely dented his rapport with Liverpool fans.


Image: PA

Torres would hit 45 goals in his stint at Stamford Bridge and was loaned out to AC Milan, who he then joined permanently shortly after.

But the 33-year old returned to his beloved Atletico, initially on loan, and then permanently in 2016, and having turned down a lucrative move to Mexico in favour of signing a new one-year contract with Los Rojiblancos, he now intends to hang up his boots in the Spanish capital.

Image: PA

Speaking to the official TV channel of Mexican side Toluca, as quoted by Spanish outlet AS, he said:

"I am at home. I came back to Atlético after eight years and this is where I feel genuinely happy. My desire is to play for Atlético and retire here while also winning trophies and helping the club to continue to be one of the best in Europe. That is the only option I have in my head at the moment."

Image: PA

Diego Simeone was a pivotal figure on Torres returning home, and having worked with the Uruguayan on a regular basis, Torres feels the club can build on the five trophies lifted in El Cholo's tenure so far.

"Simeone has reinforced the belief that has always been what this club is about." he added.

"I came to Atlético when I was 10 years old and the club taught me about that.

"There are always periods in the history of a club when things are difficult and you can lose that identity a little but with El Cholo we have recovered all of our values: sacrifice, humility, fighting spirit. If we all pull in the same direction we can continue to compete with the big and powerful clubs."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Atletico Madrid, Fernando Torres