Fernando Torres will make his debut for Chelsea tomorrow
But as if to drive another dagger into the hearts of Anfield fans outraged at his £50million departure to Chelsea on Monday, Torres revealed he left Liverpool with the blessing of one of their own – captain Steven Gerrard.
The most expensive player in Britain will make his debut for Chelsea tomorrow in the white-hot atmosphere of a game against the team where he was a cult hero – until he left on deadline day.
Fans burned shirts outside Anfield as Torres left and the World Cup-winning Spaniard was branded a traitor. But last night he revealed that he
knew he was leaving Liverpool nearly two weeks before the transfer went through.
Torres,
who claims he will not celebrate if he scores tomorrow, said: “People
have called me a traitor. I don’t think it is fair.
“I
will never talk bad about any Liverpool players or staff. They can say
what they want. But traitor makes no sense. I left them with massive
money, scored lots of goals, gave good performances.
Fernando Torres will make his debut for Chelsea tomorrow
“I understand they are angry, but I’m happy with everything I did there. I never lost my ambition there.”
Gerrard,
above, a Chelsea target himself six years ago, had been among the first
on the phone. “He supported me, maybe because he had been in that
situation,” said Torres. “He only wanted the best for me and said he
would agree with the decision I made.”
Torres
made the move inevitable by handing in a transfer request last week, but
completed his British-record deal just 13 minutes before the deadline
on Monday, as Liverpool had waited for £35m replacement Andy Carroll.
“I
decided to leave as soon I knew Chelsea were interested and there were
talks between the clubs,” he said. “I explained my situation, was honest
with everyone. I told everyone, face to face, my feelings. They heard
it from me. That was maybe 10 or 12 days before the window closed.”
Liverpool
had asked for Torres not to play tomorrow but the player himself has no
doubts and said: “I’m a Chelsea player. If the manager wants me to
play, I’ll play.”
CHELSEA’S annual wage bill
has soared to £172.5m – almost £40m more than next-highest payers
Manchester City and a 12.7 per cent increase from 2009.
City’s wage bill is £133.3m, Manchester United’s £131.7m and Arsenal’s £110m.
Chelsea’s
wages are 82 per cent of their turnover – more healthy than City’s 106
per cent, but way off United’s 46 per cent and Arsenal’s 49 per cent.
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