Fernando Torres will follow Andres Iniesta to Japan after announcing that he has signed a contract to join Sagan Tosu.The 34-year-old attracted interested from the MLS and the A-League after his second stint at boyhood club Atletico Madrid came to an end.But it’s in the J1 League where Torres will continue his fine career."[Sagan Tosu] were one of the first clubs to show interest in me, and I appreciate their insistence and how they convinced me with their sporting, personal and cultural project,” Torres said in a press conference.“They wanted me on a football level, which was one of the most important things.”Torres will be thankful that his time with Atleti ended on a high; he helped Los Rojiblancos win the Europa League, 16 years after winning the Segunda Division with the Spanish outfit.Yet Torres’ greatest moments came on the international stage.
Torres' Chelsea career
He was a part of the Spain side that swept everyone aside when at the peak of its powers.
Their triumph at the 2010 World Cup was sandwiched by European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012.
It’s hard not to talk about Torres’ time in England when studying his career, in particular his time with Chelsea.
The Blues paid Liverpool £50 million for the Spaniard in 2011 but he wasn’t the same player at Stamford Bridge as he was on Merseyside.
Indeed, Chelsea expected more for their money than 45 goals in 172 appearances.
Torres is often labelled as a Chelsea flop but he doesn’t see it that way.
"Often people have an idea of my time at Chelsea that I do not share,” he said on Tuesday.
“In the end it was the club where I won most titles - in three years I won the biggest trophies there, so I remember that experience very fondly."
Well said, Fernando.
He’s right, too. Torres won the FA Cup and the Champions League in 2012 before scoring in the final as Chelsea won the Europa League in 2013.
And the sight of Torres rounding Victor Valdes and slotting the ball home at the Camp Nou six years ago is one that Chelsea supporters will never forget.