Fernando Torres to don Liverpool shirt 9 years after exit
Fernando Torres will pull on a Liverpool shirt at Anfield in a legends match next year, nine years after leaving the club to sign for Chelsea.
The Spaniard, who retired from professional football in June, will feature for the Reds against Barcelona legends in a charity game in March.
The 35-year-old was a fan-favourite during his time at Anfield as he scored 81 goals in 142 appearances from 2007 to 2011, but invoked the wrath of supporters after a controversial £50million transfer to Stamford Bridge.
Torres was unable to reproduce his goal-scoring form at Chelsea, however, with an infamous open goal miss against Manchester United summing up his luck in front of goal.
But he will have the chance to build bridges with the Anfield faithful when he makes his first outing in a Liverpool shirt since the acrimonious switch in 2011, and the former striker is already dreaming of scoring in front of the fans.
‘Hopefully it happens!’ he told Liverpoolfc.com.
‘I received many invitations from Liverpool to play with them in the past but I couldn’t do it because I was still playing. So, I’ll be so happy to come back and play in a Liverpool shirt again.’
He said he was also hopeful supporters would sing their ‘Liverpool’s number nine’ chant for him and admits the song still gives him a special feeling.
‘That song has been the soundtrack of my career for many years,’ he said.
‘I still feel something special when I hear it. It happened in 2015 when I came [back]. It made me feel happy because I know how important the relationship is between players and fan
‘I felt so proud from the first day here. I know some of the best strikers in history played for Liverpool at Anfield, so these [fans] saw many good players. So it’s a privilege for them to make a song for me.’
This won’t be the first time Torres has returned to Anfield, as he played for Jamie Carragher’s all-star charity match in 2015, which featured a range of big names from the Premier League era.
Barcelona’s team will also boast a number of big names, with Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert, Juliano Belletti and Javier Saviola all lining up.