Ok, so Liverpool didn't miss out on signing Torres, but he simply has to be number one on this list because of the way his career has panned out since leaving the club. It's easy to forget that, between about 2007 and 2009, Torres was the best striker on the planet. The likes of David Villa and Didier Drogba certainly pushed him close, but his pace, power, skill and ruthless finishing were unrivalled anywhere in the world game. He scored 72 goals over three seasons at Anfield, gaining himself legendary status in the process. During the end of the 2009/10 season and start of the 2010/11 campaign, however, Torres slowly began to decline. Injuries had stunted his progress, and although still only in his mid 20s, there were definite signs that he had lost that electrifying burst of pace over 20 yards. In January 2011, Chelsea snapped him up for a mammoth £50m, with their fans goading Liverpool in the process. We as Reds were well aware that this was not the same Torres that had once torn defences to shreds every week though, and to get that amount of money for a player past his peak proved to be a masterstroke by Liverpool. In the three and a half years that the Spaniard has been at Stamford Bridge he has been a laughing stock. Remarkably he has only scored 20 goals in 110 Premier League appearances, and he must surely go down as the biggest waste of money in English football history. It was one of the best pieces of transfer business Liverpool Football Club has ever conducted. Let us know your 10 Biggest Near Misses In Liverpool Transfer History.
