Liverpool FC Forum

[GRAHAM01]

hold that thought it may come true

[destro]

Look again at his face. He won't be ever be a man. 

I remember another Babyfaced striker who didn't do to bad in English football 

[The Manhattan Project]

25M is a lot of money.

If we sign Torres, how much left would we have to buy other players?

[metalhead]

25M is a lot of money.

If we sign Torres, how much left would we have to buy other players?

Metalhead answer

1 Billion Trillion Kazillion quid

[Sabre]

Guillem Balague is nobody in Spain, but this year, probably because the fame achieved in England, has got a spot in some articles of the low credibility Spanish rag AS. I don't like this Balague guy, and I hope he's not right:

"The english press do not agree each other. In the mean time that some papers write that there's no way Torres goes from Atletico (Independent, Guardian) the others bet that soon will reach an offer, that, according to rumours, it hasn't reached yet."

"Liverpool knows it all about Torres and the only doubts are financial "

"Rafa Benitez won't pay the 40 Millions Euros of the release clause (about 27M pounds) because he hasn't those to spend" (worrying if true, but is it true?).

"The dream is Torres, but Liverpool also wants Malouda, and Villa and Forlan as second options". Is this Rafa's dream or your dream Balague? Torres before Villa? are you fúcking kidding?

"Benitez doesn't know what's the budget yet, anyhow he's managed that one of the Americans Gillet, back him in the Torres crusade"

No budget, but Liverpool officials in Madrid Balague??

"Gillet is the one that talks more among the new owners, but it's Hicks who really can make a difference budget wise".

"So Benitez has to do some politics inside the club before putting an offer over the table".

This is a rough translation of the most relevant part of Balague's Spanish articles. I don't know what to think about him, either he writes speculative , or ir a super friend of Rafa saying we have no money so that they don't ask the release fee.

At the end of the day, it's the same old story, rumours. I think I'm gonna sit and wait.

Antonio Sanz Torres' agent has said, the the "supposed" offer (this in spanish means it hasn't happened) of 24M € plus Garcia, is not enough, especially when Manchester have paid 30M for Nani. He also says that Torres wants to stay  in Atletico, and Atletico wants Torres to stay.

I think Sanz is lying mates, but what they want is that Liverpool spends a ridiculous amount. And for that we'd better sign up villa.

[stmichael]

I personally think Athletico Madrid are trying to create a bidding war knowing that the mancs and Chelsea have shown an interest in the past.

Hopefully Torres affection for us will f#ck that idea up.

Knowing Parry and co we have probably offered £10 million + Cisse.

[puroresu]

Wasnt the Torres YNWA armband worn out of respect for those killed by ETA?

[RUSHIE#9]

Wasnt the Torres YNWA armband worn out of respect for those killed by ETA?

Not too sure of the full reason but it was definately nothing to do with him coming to Liverpool as one shit rag that shall remain nameless suggested.

There can be no doubt that Atletico would love a bidding war to break out for their star man but if anyone is gonna get him I believe that they'll do it with a bid that comes within a pubes width of his buyout fee. If thats to be Liverpool I will be very disappointed 'cos he's nowhere near being that valuable.

[Sabre]

Wasnt the Torres YNWA armband worn out of respect for those killed by ETA?

It was a gift from the club to the player, and it was an idea of the team mates, as a sign of support for Torres.

No ETA victims support related, AFAICT.

[kobashi]

Torres bid laughed off by agent

Fernando Torres agent has laughed off Liverpool's bid for the Spanish striker. Antonio Sanz, who represents the 23-year-old hot-shot, says Liverpool's bid of £16m plus Luis Garcia falls well short of his valuation of Torres. Sources at Anfield have confirmed that the Spaniard is now the number one transfer target, but Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez will have to dig deep into the club's pockets if he wants to land the striker.

Benitez could also face a tough task of luring Torres away from Spain after Sanz told a Spanish radio station he was happy to stay at Athletico Madrid.

Sanz said: "The supposed offering of £16m plus Luis Garcia is very insufficient if you keep in mind that Fernando guarantees you 15 goals per year, especially when Nani, an unknown player, cost Manchester United £20m.

"Also, Fernando does not want to leave Athletico Madrid and they do not want Fernando to leave them.

"The situation is the same as it was last summer and Fernando is flattered by the interest from Liverpool and the other large clubs from Italy.

"But he is happy at Athletico and confident of succeeding in Europe with them." 



http://www.24dash.com/sport/22782.htm

[Ciggy]

Radio City are reporting its a done deal 36 million euros     

I have it on good authority that Rafa and Rick flew out to Madrid very late on monday night.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2396583cce1898/

http://www.voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=44885

This dutch site is saying the same.

The footie echo.

Anfield Dream Holds Torres Key"
By Tony Barrett

IF the desire to sign for Liverpool was enough to win a move to Anfield, Fernando Torres would already be a Liverpool player.
In recent years it has become an open secret that the Spanish international would only be willing to give up his beloved Atletico Madrid shirt if he could swap it for a red one and join Rafa Benitez’s Anfield revolution.
It is this desire which has seen Torres emerge from a shortlist of strikers – including the likes of Real Zaragoza’s Diego Milito, Villarreal’s Diego Forlan, Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax and PSV’s Arouna Kone – to become Benitez’s target number one.
Torres’ ability is undoubted. A total of 82 goals in little over 200 games for an Atletico side which has been nothing more than an also ran in La Liga since he signed his first professional contract with the club as a 15-year-old in 1999 tells its own story.
Since his debut, he has gone on to become the symbol of Atletico Madrid. The fans worship him to such an extent that club chiefs have continually been at pains to point out that they would only sell him if Torres forced the issue.
Just last year, club President Enrique Cerezo told a packed press conference: “If Fernando Torres ends up leaving Ateltico It will be because he wants to, because we have no intention of selling him.”
A Liverpool shirt may have been torched outside Anfield when Steven Gerrard looked set to move to Chelsea but in Madrid there have long been fears that rioting would break out should Fernando Torres ever be allowed to quit Atletico.
But this summer something changed. As the La Liga season reached its climax, Atletico again missed out on a European place and many of their fans came to the same realisation that several Spanish football commentators came to years before – remaining at Atletico Madrid was no longer an option for a talent like Fernando Torres.
All of a sudden, the possibility of a move away from the Vincente Calderon stadium was discussed openly. The Atletico fans do not want rid of their talisman, far from it, but their relationship with their favourite son is such that they want only what is best for him.
And that is where Liverpool come in. 
The Atletico board and fans do not want to see Torres play for another Spanish club. If his undoubtedly huge potential was realised at a rival La Liga side that would be too much for them to bear.
So a move abroad is the best, perhaps the only, option for everyone. Manchester United, Chelsea and a whole host of Italian clubs have expressed an interest in Torres in recent years but his heart has always belonged to Liverpool.
Benitez has long been aware of Torres’ talent and now he believes the time is right to prise him away from Atletico and make his Anfield dreams come true.
One of the main reasons for this is Benitez has been made well aware that Torres is desperate to play for Liverpool. The forward has no desire to become the subject of an auction and nothing would please him more than for a deal to be tied up as quickly as possible.
Should a fee be agreed – and in the absence of an Abramovich style budget, doing a deal for world class forward is never going to be easy – it would be surprising in the extreme if Torres was to jeopardise his dream move by making excessive personal demands.
Atletico will not make it easy of course – after all you only get to sell the family silver once – and they will be looking to secure the highest fee possible in order to appease their fans over the loss of their hero.
 
But if the desire of Benitez’s American backers matches that of his target, there is no reason why Fernando Torres should not become a Liverpool player in the very near future.

[red37]

How much!

f**k me sideways...the world's gone mad. (how much is that in English money?)

No mention of Garcia as a sweetner then, lets hope he stays put.

Now get Mancini in (or Vicente), snatch Gabi Milito off Juve and we're laughing.

[Ciggy]

How much!

f**k me sideways...the world's gone mad. (how much is that in English money?)

24 million 

The way its a big suprise for us and an obsene amount of money and the way the mancs and Chelsea buy players like they have just payed 2 bob.

[Sabre]

It's 24'93M in Albion money Red37. (sorry cigs, you posted while I calculated)

Well it's a proof we are able to bring big names with less money than the one that Manchester have bought some less famous players.

I wonder if that's the first and last big spending, or whether the americans will frighten the market with more big spendings now. It would be fun to read the papers that wrote we had no money.

[red37]

Bloody hell, thats a heck of a lot of money. Ive seen Torres as much as anyone else here can have and i have to admit, the lad is a good player, no more than that. Perhaps (hopefully) one that can go on to become a great player...Thats pretty much down to his own work ethic and the capability of those around him on the park to help him achieve those aims. Provided he has more in the locker than we've witnessed so far...maybe im being harsh there.

But at the moment im reserving my judgement.

The one plus point here is his age and the fact that he wont be totally alienated at Anfield due to the culture already in place, in part.

The rest?  Well, Drogba was of a similar pricetag when he arrived at Chelsea and its taken a while for him to establish himself amongst the elite. The two are different people of course - but the challenge is the same essentially.  Here's hoping for a similar outcome for ourselves before too long should the transfer become a reality.

Sort out the wings Rafa and our 'Red Bull' will feel quite at home id guess.  Or does this indicate a persistance to play in the same style?  Torres will invariably start from a deep lying position, after all.....there is still a requirement (and room) for a poacher even allowing for that fact.

   who knows, but nonetheless interesting times lay ahead.