Football pundit and former Reds defender Jamie Carragher claims that the Liverpool squad were “astonished” when Chelsea bid £50million for Fernando Torres in 2011.
The Spaniard was a huge hit for the Merseyside club after signing from Atlético Madrid in 2007, scoring 72 goals in his first 116 games. However, his electric form was only temporary, and his form started to decline in the first half of the 2010/11 Premier League campaign.
Chelsea bought the then 26-year old for a staggering sum, but his form never returned to his early Liverpool days, and he left for boyhood club Atlético after four years having scored just 20 Premier League goals in 110 games.
Writing his column for the Telegraph, Carragher recalled how surprised he and his teammates were to see the Blues bid so high, given his early season shortcomings. Carragher said:
When Chelsea bid £50 million for Torres in January 2011 there was consternation among Liverpool supporters.
Although we could never state it publicly at the time, there was general astonishment in our dressing room.
We thought Chelsea had not been watching him for the previous 12 months. We knew Chelsea did not sign the player they thought.
Torres currently plays for Sagan Tosu in the Japanese J-League, having left Atlético Madrid at the end of last season.
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