It's a sad day: Fernando Torres has played his final game of professional football.

Justly heralded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation and universally loved for his humble attitude, Torres has been given an emotional send-off from the sporting world this week.

Torres' peak performances might have been reserved to a handful of seasons, but 'El Nino' was never far away from proving his brilliance and was a prolific winner throughout his career.

Torres collected just about every trophy available to him with Spain, winning the World Cup in 2010 and bagging two consecutive winners' medals in the European Championships.

At club level, the Spaniard enjoyed his densest rush of silverware with Chelsea, with whom he won the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.

Torres' best days at Liverpool

Let's be honest, though, pretty much all of our fondest memories of Torres came during his iconic Liverpool days, when he was arguably the best number nine in world football.

Rumour has it that Nemanja Vidic is still having nightmares of Torres running full pelt at him, wearing that same old headband, white ankle-protectors and a pair of Nike Total 90s.

Torres was never really the same player after his knee injury in 2010, but he scored a sensational 72 goals in 116 appearances during his first three seasons on Merseyside.

Torres-Gerrard compilation

And one of the biggest keys to Torres' success at Anfield was his relationship with Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool fans have always had a nostalgia for Gerrard and Torres linking up, which is something that became commonplace in the Premier League during the late 2000s.

So, we thought it was only fitting that supporters should reminisce on those golden days to celebrate Torres' retirement and a compilation by YouTuber 'Dennis Bergkamp' fits the bill perfectly.

Enjoy four glorious minutes of Gerrard and Torres tearing up the world's greatest league:

Don't even pretend that didn't get you emotional.

It's easy to forget that Torres was almost as creative for Gerrard as it was vice verse, with the Liverpool captain playing further up the pitch and combining effortlessly with his leading striker.

And in the spirit of that brilliant compilation, the now Rangers manager was sure to pay tribute to Torres before his final appearance in Sagan Tosu vs Vissel Kobe.

“I wish you the best for the future, you had a really great career,” Gerrard remarked. “I loved playing with you and spending time in the dressing room with you. I’d love to relive those days. 

“When I got the ball in midfield, I knew you would be running behind the opponent’s defence and that I could find you straight away.

"You changed all my bad passes into good ones and I got plenty of assists! I wish you good luck to you and your family, and I’m looking forward to the day in the future when our paths cross again.”