TORRID TORRES
It's see ya to Garcia and.. Fans riot over Kop move for Fernando
By David Maddock And Martin Lipton 28/06/2007
ATLETICO Madrid fans have hit the streets in their outrage at the sale of their hero Fernando Torres to Liverpool.
The Spanish fans staged a massive protest against the Atletico board, with hundreds of supporters marching in the capital to demonstrate against the loss of their star player.
The demonstration came as Atletico's chief transfer negotiator, Miguel Angel Gil Martin, admitted a deal was imminent when he said: "Nobody is indispensable, including Torres.
Advertisement"Our objective has to be to build a team that is competitive and no single player, no matter how good he is, can make a team meet those objectives on his own.
"At Atletico, we are trying to create a team that does not revolve solely around Fernando Torres, but around the team as a whole.
"Of course I would want Fernando to stay - but the future will be decided by Fernando himself.
"We've spoken to him and told him we would prefer him to stay on but it is only normal that he has doubts about doing that.
"It is only natural that when there are offers for him, from big clubs, he will think about them and question what he wants to do next in his career.
"The reality is that money changes everything in football and I can't expect Fernando to change his mind now and say he wants to stay with us. My obligation is to work in the best interests of the club and to look for an alternative to replace Fernando if he does decide he wants to go."
But Torres is a cult figure within the club, with many of the Atletico fans complaining that he is their only top class performer, and his loss would signal a massive collapse for the second club in Madrid.
Their fans demonstrated in the middle of the Spanish capital, carrying banners lamenting the sale of their star striker to Liverpool, and castigating the Atletico board for their spineless acceptance of the deal.
They chanted Torres' name and pleaded with the club to do everything in their power to keep the forward.
But it seems their protests, no matter how fervent, will be in vain, because the deal is now almost done, with Liverpool agreeing a player-plus cash deal to bring the Spain international striker to England.
Liverpool have proposed a deal where their outcast striker Djibril Cisse will be used in part exchange, along with around £18million cash.
Atletico, for their part, want Luis Garcia (above) as part of the deal, and it seems they will get their way after the Spanish winger admitted yesterday that he wants to return to his homeland.
Speaking on Spanish television, Garcia - who has been injured for the last six months - said: "Liverpool are in my thoughts at the moment, but one day I would like to come back, and not to Barcelona, but to Atletico Madrid, who are always in my thoughts."
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looks like bloody chaos in madrid, looks like this deal has cost us garcia...
i wont relax until torres signs, i remenber how i felt when the simao sabrosa deal fell through...