There has been speculation for some time that Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres could be on his way to the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. Earlier this month, the MLS’ official website published a story on the Fire being interested in signing Torres, as they own his internal league rights, if the former Chelsea and Liverpool man decided he wanted to cross the pond this summer.
Fernando Torres himself, 34, has confirmed his plans to leave Atletico, and his agent says that many international options (China, USA, the Middle East) are all on the table. Torres broke the Liverpool transfer fee mark when he joined in 2007, as well as the Chelsea record when he switched to Stamford Bridge in 2011. That transfer also set the record for the most expensive Spanish player of all time.
Those records have all since been broken a few times over, and Torres is obviously today not the same player he was in his prime, but he could make transfer history again, wherever he decides to go.
The Chicago Fire’s Coach, Veljko Paunovic, is a former teammate of Torres, and he’s really been talking up the Spaniard.
“We don’t talk about players who are not part of our squad, respecting that they are at other clubs, but for sure we are able to bring in great players,” said Paunovic, who then referenced Bastian Schweinsteiger, who they signed a year ago from Manchester United.
“We showed that when we signed Bastian. He is a player who understands his role on and off the pitch. A relaxed guy, who helps his teammates a lot, shares his experience. The truth is it’s a pleasure to have him,” Paunovic added.
“We shared many memories together. Above all I remember his human qualities and how he has grown as a player. He is a complete superstar,” Paunovic added; referencing his time with Torres from 2003-2005.
Pauno has extolled the virtues of Schweinsteiger quite a bit this season, even joking that the club should build a statue of the German outside the Fire’s home stadium, a la the Chicago Bulls on Michael Jordan.
Fernando Torres has certainly accomplished a lot in his career, becoming the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals. He was also named in the FIFA World XI in 2008 and 2009, and would definitely be a welcome addition in Bridgeview, Illinois.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.