By all accounts taken, Fernando Torres has had a blistering football career.
The 34-year-old striker started his professional path in 2001 with Atletico Madrid and went on to play for Liverpool, Chelsea, AC Milan before returning to his boyhood club back in 2016.
After eight years in total with Los Colchineros, Fernando Torres is getting ready to part ways with his beloved club at the end of the current season.
“This will be my last season at the club. As you can see I am playing very little.”, he said on Monday.
The Spaniard was an unused substitute in his club’s 1-1 stalemate in the Madrid derby on Sunday and he felt obliged to inform the supporters of his decision.
“It’s very difficult to say goodbye for the second time. My aim was to hang up the boots here.”, Torres said, revealing he wants to keep playing for at least two, three or even five years.
The Atletico Madrid legend will be given an honourable farewell at Atletico Madrid’s last home game of the season against Eibar on 20 May after which Torres will start planning on his immediate future away from the Vanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Where to Now?
Fernando Torres is hardly the same player he was during his first spell with Atletico Madrid and during four years at Anfield. The veteran striker remains best known for his stint with Liverpool, where he became the fan favourite and established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe.
His move to Chelsea came as a shock to Liverpool supporters who were seen burning his shirt back in 2011. Despite amassing the total of 110 Premier League appearances with the Blues – and winning the UEFA Champions League and Europa League in 2011/12 and 2012.13, respectively, Torres never really managed to live up to the hype and replicate his stunning Liverpool performances.
Once the world-class striker who would use his remarkable pace and vision to get in behind defenders and create a goalscoring position for himself now lacks speed and agility of his younger self but can still be a valuable asset for many a club.
With his future up in the air Europe currently is not being mentioned as an option for Torres.
Qatar, the Emirates and China remains the unlikely destinations whereas the rumours about an MLS swoop are slowly starting to gain momentum.
The Latest Star to Cross the Pond?
The United States top-tier Major League Soccer (MLS) has over the years become one of the favourite destinations for ageing stars who are looking for a chance to hit the limelight for the last time in their careers.
Still a competition of a notably lower quality than most of Europe’s top-tier competitions, the MLS is steadily building up its reputation by adding quality players – prominent and bit more obscure – which bring a fresh perspective into one of the growing American sports trends of late.
MLS teams have been more than willing to take a flyer on former superstars, knowing that the arrival of a notable player would generate plenty of media attention towards the competition itself. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his LA Galaxy move are there to attest to it.
Latching on a popular trend the Spanish striker Fernando Torres is said to have issued a come and get me plea to MLS clubs who love taking a high-profile free agent.
A couple of notable MLS clubs such as D.C. United, Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City and the growing franchise of Los Angeles Football Club are said to be sides looking for a striker and a splash signing which made Fernando Torres a 4/1 betting odds favourite to sign for any MLS club at the end of the season.
Surprisingly enough, the bookies have thrown Scottish champions Celtic in the mix to sign the experienced striker who is a 25/1 price to move to Scotland.
His former manager Rafa Benitez is – naturally – an option as well with Newcastle United given 6/1 to grab El Nino this summer.
Where do you see Fernando Torres playing next season?
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