The forward thinking that took £20m Torres straight to Liverpool
Apologies if posted already
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle2028665.ece
The intense pressure that comes with being Liverpool’s record signing may have claimed plenty of victims, but Fernando Torres, the Spain striker, believes the club offer him the perfect platform to take his game to a higher level. The Times can reveal today the full story behind the £20.2 million transfer that eclipses Liverpool’s previous record outlay of £14.2 million on Djibril Cissé, whose No 9 shirt Torres inherits.
Torres joins from Atlético Madrid on a six-year contract worth £90,000 a week and the signing gives Rafael BenÍtez the world-class striker that the Liverpool manager believes is crucial to his club’s hopes of overhauling Chelsea and Manchester United domestically.
BenÍtez had spent the hours after Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to AC Milan pounding the streets of Athens. It may only still have been May but his mind was already focused on next season. The club’s new American owners had obviously impressed BenÍtez enough for the Spaniard to reject the overtures of Real Madrid for the second successive year in favour of staying at Anfield. But for all the assurances BenÍtez had received from George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, the manager wanted a clear indication of how much the pair were willing to invest in a squad that had finished 21 points behind United in the title race.
Besides, BenÍtez still had some doubts about whether the Americans’ £470 million takeover was all that it was being made out to be. He had been offered Samuel Eto’o, the Barcelona striker, and told that for about €50 million (£33.7 million) the player would be his. But even for the Americans, with all their promise of riches, it was too much.
BenÍtez may have had reservations about the price tag himself, not to mention Eto’o’s exorbitant wage demands and temperament, but it was the clearest indication yet that he would still not be allowed to compete in the very top bracket of the transfer market.
No wonder he decided to go public on May 24, the day after defeat in the Greek capital. He knew it would upset the Americans, to such a point that they later warned him such outbursts would not be tolerated again, but he had resolved that the time for talking was over. Fortunately for BenÍtez, his defiance paid off.
BenÍtez had admired Torres for several years but had accepted that the Spain striker was not a player Liverpool could previously afford. Nor did Atlético appear willing to sell him. That was all about to change.
Torres had been getting itchy for some time. As he articulated yesterday: “I had maybe gone as far as I could and didn’t think I could improve any more. I wanted to set myself new targets and new goals.”
When Atlético were hammered 6-0 by Barcelona effectively to end any chance they had of qualifying for the Uefa Cup, the 23-year-old’s mind was made up. He had to move on and there was only one club he was willing to move to: Liverpool.
He had been the subject of a firm inquiry from United the previous summer but it never got farther from that. United got cold feet, later signed Michael Carrick for £18.6 million from Tottenham Hotspur and were unwilling to commit to another hefty transfer fee. Chelsea and Arsenal, meanwhile, were lurking in the background.
BenÍtez was still mulling over alternative candidates, notably Diego Forlán, the Villarreal forward, Diego Milito, of Real Zaragoza, and David Trezeguet, the Juventus striker, all of whom for varying reasons did not quite fit the bill, when the call came that Torres was available and for significantly less than the £27 million release clause in the player’s contract.
A fee of about £20.2 million was agreed in principle three weeks ago, but Atlético wanted to establish how the sale of their most prized asset would be received, so news was leaked of a possible swap deal involving Torres and Cissé and Luis GarcÍa, who would eventually move to the Vicente Calderón as part of the deal for about £2.7 million. The initial reaction was far from encouraging. Fans held demonstrations, but as the reality dawned, so the animosity subsided.
Torres’s desire to join Liverpool was so great that he was willing to take a pay cut, as revealed by The Times on Monday. Earning just over £103,000 a week in Spain, he stood to receive about £90,000 a week with Liverpool, but that was not a problem.
Then on Wednesday of last week, Atlético received an offer of about £25 million from Manchester City. It may have turned Atlético’s head but not Torres’s. His mind was made up. BenÍtez had finally got his man.
The rejects
— Samuel Eto’o: too expensive and temperamental
— Diego Forlán: poor goalscoring record in England
— David Trezeguet: injury problems and nearly 30
— Diego Milito: Benítez worried by lack of pace
Apologies if posted already
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle2028665.ece
The intense pressure that comes with being Liverpool’s record signing may have claimed plenty of victims, but Fernando Torres, the Spain striker, believes the club offer him the perfect platform to take his game to a higher level. The Times can reveal today the full story behind the £20.2 million transfer that eclipses Liverpool’s previous record outlay of £14.2 million on Djibril Cissé, whose No 9 shirt Torres inherits.
Torres joins from Atlético Madrid on a six-year contract worth £90,000 a week and the signing gives Rafael BenÍtez the world-class striker that the Liverpool manager believes is crucial to his club’s hopes of overhauling Chelsea and Manchester United domestically.
BenÍtez had spent the hours after Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to AC Milan pounding the streets of Athens. It may only still have been May but his mind was already focused on next season. The club’s new American owners had obviously impressed BenÍtez enough for the Spaniard to reject the overtures of Real Madrid for the second successive year in favour of staying at Anfield. But for all the assurances BenÍtez had received from George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, the manager wanted a clear indication of how much the pair were willing to invest in a squad that had finished 21 points behind United in the title race.
Besides, BenÍtez still had some doubts about whether the Americans’ £470 million takeover was all that it was being made out to be. He had been offered Samuel Eto’o, the Barcelona striker, and told that for about €50 million (£33.7 million) the player would be his. But even for the Americans, with all their promise of riches, it was too much.
BenÍtez may have had reservations about the price tag himself, not to mention Eto’o’s exorbitant wage demands and temperament, but it was the clearest indication yet that he would still not be allowed to compete in the very top bracket of the transfer market.
No wonder he decided to go public on May 24, the day after defeat in the Greek capital. He knew it would upset the Americans, to such a point that they later warned him such outbursts would not be tolerated again, but he had resolved that the time for talking was over. Fortunately for BenÍtez, his defiance paid off.
BenÍtez had admired Torres for several years but had accepted that the Spain striker was not a player Liverpool could previously afford. Nor did Atlético appear willing to sell him. That was all about to change.
Torres had been getting itchy for some time. As he articulated yesterday: “I had maybe gone as far as I could and didn’t think I could improve any more. I wanted to set myself new targets and new goals.”
When Atlético were hammered 6-0 by Barcelona effectively to end any chance they had of qualifying for the Uefa Cup, the 23-year-old’s mind was made up. He had to move on and there was only one club he was willing to move to: Liverpool.
He had been the subject of a firm inquiry from United the previous summer but it never got farther from that. United got cold feet, later signed Michael Carrick for £18.6 million from Tottenham Hotspur and were unwilling to commit to another hefty transfer fee. Chelsea and Arsenal, meanwhile, were lurking in the background.
BenÍtez was still mulling over alternative candidates, notably Diego Forlán, the Villarreal forward, Diego Milito, of Real Zaragoza, and David Trezeguet, the Juventus striker, all of whom for varying reasons did not quite fit the bill, when the call came that Torres was available and for significantly less than the £27 million release clause in the player’s contract.
A fee of about £20.2 million was agreed in principle three weeks ago, but Atlético wanted to establish how the sale of their most prized asset would be received, so news was leaked of a possible swap deal involving Torres and Cissé and Luis GarcÍa, who would eventually move to the Vicente Calderón as part of the deal for about £2.7 million. The initial reaction was far from encouraging. Fans held demonstrations, but as the reality dawned, so the animosity subsided.
Torres’s desire to join Liverpool was so great that he was willing to take a pay cut, as revealed by The Times on Monday. Earning just over £103,000 a week in Spain, he stood to receive about £90,000 a week with Liverpool, but that was not a problem.
Then on Wednesday of last week, Atlético received an offer of about £25 million from Manchester City. It may have turned Atlético’s head but not Torres’s. His mind was made up. BenÍtez had finally got his man.
The rejects
— Samuel Eto’o: too expensive and temperamental
— Diego Forlán: poor goalscoring record in England
— David Trezeguet: injury problems and nearly 30
— Diego Milito: Benítez worried by lack of pace
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