Fernando Torres wasn't exactly known for his brute strength during his playing days.

Rather, the former Chelsea and Liverpool poacher was revered for his lightning-quick pace, calmly-placed finishes and ability to leave Nemanja Vidic grazing on the Old Trafford pitch.

In the halcyon days of 2008, it could even be argued that Torres was the best number nine in the world, fresh from scoring the winning goal for Spain at the European Championships.

Torres winds down his career

However, Torres' woes since his knee surgery in 2010 have been painfully documented, leading to an underwhelming final decade to the otherwise incredible career of 'El Nino'.

Give or take a renaissance at Stamford Bridge during the 2012/13 campaign, Torres looked a shadow of his former self in west London, with AC Milan and upon his return to Atletico Madrid.

In the end, Torres decided to wind down his career in Japan with Sagan Tosu, but the Spaniard flattered to deceive once again, hanging up his boots with just nine goals from 36 appearances.

Where is Torres now?

It wasn't the way football fans wanted to see a Premier League icon bow out of the beautiful game, but we can at least be glad that he bid goodbye to the sport he loves so dearly on his own terms.

However, it's been more than a year since we last saw Torres on a football pitch and I can't imagine that we're alone in wondering what the World Cup winner has been up to since then.

Well, sadly, the answer most certainly isn't a dramatic Premier League return, but an Instagram post from the man himself on Tuesday afternoon revealed something that was similarly surprising.

Torres' body transformation

That's because Torres looked, well, absolutely hench compared to his playing days in a promotional video for AW8, showing off some rather enviable shoulder and arms muscles.

"I’m so thrilled to announce that I am the official Brand Ambassador for AW8 in Southeast Asia," Torres penned. "Join me on this journey and partnership with www.AW8.com for exciting events and crazy promotions to come."

You can check out the best screenshots of Torres' new physique down below:

Woof, Torres has clearly been pumping the iron since he called a day on his playing career.

Torres looking stacked

We love a good body transformation here at GIVEMESPORT, but aside from the dramatic weight spikes and troughs of combat sport athletes, Torres' ranks as one of the more radical we've seen.

Don't get us wrong, the Spaniard has a long way to go before he's rivaling Adama Traore in the guns department, but he might not be far behind in the months to come if he keeps this up.

And as much as we'll always love the trimmer Torres that made for iconic photos at Anfield, we're happy to see that 'El Nino' hasn't completely shied away from sport since leaving football.