10 Best Spanish Players In Premier League History
3. Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres’ time in England can be summed up in two parts. The part where he was amazing but didn’t win anything and the part where he was terrible but won everything.
When he first arrived at Liverpool from Atletico Madrid, he was world-class. A striker gifted with blistering pace, clinical finishing and the ability to create chances for others as well as himself, opposition defences just could cope with Torres.
In 142 appearances he found the back of the net 81 times. Simply sensational. While he won numerous individual awards and even finished third in the Ballon d’Or, major trophies eluded the Reds. So, when Chelsea came calling in January 2011, Torres couldn’t resist.
But his move to Stamford Bridge for a then British record £50 million, turned out to be a complete disaster. It took him over 900 minutes for Torres to score his first goal for the club, as his eye for goal totally deserted him. Injuries played their part as well, resulting in a total of 45 goals in 175 games - a poor return for such an expensive player.
Nevertheless, he did still win the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League and will always be remembered for his goal against Barcelona, that Gary Neville enjoyed a little too much.
After leaving England he took in spells in Italy, Spain and Japan before retiring in 2019. While it is easy to make fun of some of his atrocious misses, at his peak Torres was unquestionably the best striker in England and quite possibly, the world.