Fernando Torres has opened up on his high profile switch from Liverpool to Chelsea in 2011 - a move that saw him become a figure of hate among Reds supporters, even though he never produced his best for the Stamford Bridge side.
Chelsea paid a British record fee of £50m to bring the Spaniard to west London on the final day of the 2011 January transfer window, ending his three-and-a-half year spell at Anfield.
The move was widely reported in the press as Torres wanting out in order to win trophies, but the sale was also seen as beneficial for Liverpool, as it enabled them to raise funds and give them greater financial muscle in the transfer window to help rebuild the squad. Granted, they immediately spent 70% of the proceeds on Andy Carroll.
However, this was not how the transfer was framed in the media - it was simply Torres wishing to depart the club for a rival, and this left a bitter taste in the striker's mouth.
“I felt they [Liverpool club officials] stabbed me in the back,” Torres said in the newly released Amazon Prime documentary Fernando Torres: The Last Symbol [via Marca].
"They stab me, they betray me. The sporting director [Damien Comolli] did not care that I left, he only spoke of my departure, of how much, from where. And I saw it in the press the next day that they were looking for a culprit."
The move was greeted with anger from Liverpool fans. Torres shirts were burnt outside Anfield and he was heavily booed and abused by fans upon his return to the club.
Torres conceded that the subsequent treatment he received from supporters 'hurt', but he empathises with their behaviour and his feelings towards them never changed.
“I would have heckled as well [if I was a Liverpool fan]," he added [via the Athletic]. “My affection for Liverpool remains even if they never forgive me.”
Source : 90min