“I scored a goal? Did I? I’m not sure.”
Fernando Torres’s 46 goals for Chelsea cost them £1.1m per goal spread over 172 appearances in four years. When you factor £175,000 in weekly wages that figure increases to almost £2m a goal. A spectacularly bad bit of business. The slate would have been wiped clean if Torres had scored the equalizer in the 2012 CL finals or the winning penalty but instead he scored a garbage goal in the dying minutes against Barca in the semi-finals when the Blues were already through. Nice but not really needed. His £50m transfer fee stood as a record for four years till Angel Di Maria came along at a £59.7m price tag just two days ago.
Chelsea were finally able to offload him on a two year loan for free to a club where ageism is a punishable offense. You have to love the incongruity of a relatively youthful but troubled Balotelli leaving in lieu of a relatively older and tamer Torres. Youth need not apply seems to be Milan’s motto or you will be loaned out or is it older players come a lot cheaper. Whatever it is, goals are going to be a problem. Anyways, for what its worth, Torres was a likeable player, and has enough proof of his lethality. Hats off too, to Stamford Bridge faithful, for being exceedingly patient with him. Hope he finds his goalscoring touch at his new home.