Abramovich Flies to South Africa with Hopes of Signing Torres
Chelsea F.C. owner Roman Abramovich is not content to merely discuss the possibility of signing Fernando Torres with Liverpool management. Instead, the Russian magnate has flown directly to South Africa hoping to complete the signing within a £55 million limit.
Torres’ current club, Liverpool, has valued the 26-year-old at around £70 million and are uncertain regarding his positioning on the team. Team owners refused to discuss anything Torres-related until a new manager was on board after the firing of Rafa Benitez. Roy Hodgson was the man appointed to the position, and he is currently assessing Liverpool’s course of action regarding five of the biggest players on the financially struggling team.
Torres himself has not said anything and has dedicated the entire scope of his focus on playing in the World Cup. Spain has recovered from an initial shock loss to Switzerland in the group stages and will be facing Germany in the semi-finals. Torres has struggled to find form for his nation, and has zero goals through Spain’s five games.
Torres’ performance woes stem from the fact that he is currently recovering from a knee injury and the striker has scored 24 times in 78 appearances in a Spanish jersey.
Spanish juggernaut Barcelona was also reportedly interested in obtaining the services of Torres, but seems to be unable to raise the necessary funds. Also Torres, who started out in Spain playing for Athletico Madrid, had doubts about returning to club football in home country.
Regarding Abramovich’s bid for Torres, an ESPN Soccernet insider reported: “Abramovich has authorised the bid of £50 million, and he's not expected to go much higher than that ... [but] I would think he might go to £55 million.
"Without any other creditable bidder, he sees no reason to go any higher. It's quite clear that Liverpool could get more from Manchester City, and the player could earn more from Manchester City, but the player doesn't want to go there. He wants Champions League football and the chance to win the major honours which he can do at Chelsea.”
Manchester City has also recently signed Torres’ Spanish team-mate David Silva to a deal but Torres would certainly prefer the immediate possibilities of success of Chelsea that Manchester City simply cannot provide at this point.
Liverpool finished a disappointing seventh in the Premier League last season and as they are not playing in the UEFA Champions League they will not be receiving the advertising revenue which makes maintaining world-class talent like Torres possible.
If Abramovich’s bid does go through, Torres will most likely become the most highly paid player in the Premier League. His salary would be a reported £200,000-a-week with his bonuses, which would almost double his current wages of around £110,000-a-week. This means the final cost of getting Torres to move to Stamford Bridge would realistically cost over £100 million.
The move may be costly, but signing Torres would give the defending champion Blues the most intimidating set of strikers in the Premier League. Chelsea already has powerhouse striker Didier Drogba, who won the coveted Golden Boot award for goal scoring last year. If they add Torres, who has 56 goals in 78 Premier League appearances, they will have one of the most potent up-front duos in all of football.
Torres’ tenure with Liverpool has been individually fruitful but overall disappointing. The club has been poorly managed and struggled to compete for the Premier League Championship. His desire to win and Liverpool’s severe debts will most likely lead to Torres donning the Blue kit at Stamford Bridge next season.
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