10 Players Who Stole A Living From Chelsea

3. Fernando Torres

Given how much I mock Torres for his general uselessness, anyone familiar with my writing may have expected the Spanish striker to feature as the top entry on this list. However, while he has proven extraordinarily bad value for money, he has also worked hard and trained with the dedication of a true professional. That deserves some credit and it could be argued that the fact his transfer has caused so much damage to the club both on and off the pitch is not so much his fault personally as the club repeating the mistakes of the past. His £50 million fee in January 2011 made him the most expensive player in British football history and the sixth most expensive transfer globally. The move was initially hailed as something of a triumph for the club in poaching one of their rival club's most iconic and beloved players. It wasn't as though Liverpool appeared keen to let him go either: a £40 million bid had been turned down a few days earlier, while Torres' own transfer request was similarly rejected. The move concluded at the last minute and ironically saw the player make his debut against his old club. Despite drawing a blank and looking off the pace of the game, Chelsea supporters gave him a raucous reception. Unfortunately, his dry spell lasted until the end of April, when he bagged his only goal of the season against West Ham. The following season saw him net 11 times in almost fifty appearances in all competitions, with a number of jaw-dropping misses including shooting wide in front of an open goal at Old Trafford, having ironically scored a sensational lob earlier in the game. He scored 22 the following year, benefiting from playing against weak opposition in the Europa League and still managing only eight goals in the Premier League. His overall tally halved again last season, where he was frequently benched by returning manager Jose Mourinho following a series of hapless performances. For all the damage his presence caused on the pitch, his arrival could be argued as the instigator of a period of instability at management level as well. His failure to find the net can certainly be considered one of the reasons behind the sackings of the beloved Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo, as well as the appointment of the widely loathed Rafael Benitez, widely thought to have been signed as interim manager to help the Spanish striker get back to his best. He failed. Rumours persist that Liverpool knew about a persistent injury taking its toll on Torres' ability, delaying his transfer until the last minute so Chelsea would not have time to perform a proper medical. On wages of £175k a week, he has proven unsellable due to his refusal to take a paycut and still has two years left on his contract. Sigh.