Fernando Torres explains why he left Liverpool in 2011

Posted Wednesday, August 17, 2016 by squawka.com

Former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has revealed he left Anfield because he wanted to win major club trophies while the Reds were trying to build for the future.

Torres joined Liverpool the summer of 2007 and then moved to Premier League rivals Chelsea in January 2011 for a then Premier League record transfer of £50 million. In a new book by Simon Hughes entitled "Ring of Fire: Liverpool FC into the 21st Century - the players' stories" the forward spoke about that controversial move and blamed Liverpool's directors.

"Comolli told me that the new owners (FSG) had an idea of how to spend their investment," Torres said as reported by the Liverpool Echo.

"They wanted to bring in young players, to build something new. I was thinking to myself, this takes time to work. It takes two, three, four, maybe even 10 years.

"I didn't have that time. I was 27 years old. I did not have time to wait. I wanted to win. Here we are five years later and they are still trying to build - around the same position in the league as when I left."

And once the striker's desire to leave Anfield became public, he thinks a leak from the club "changed the view of everybody, including myself".

"It was presented as if I was a traitor. It was not like this in the discussion(s).

"Liverpool could not admit they were doing something wrong with the whole team. They had to find a guilty one."

Furthermore, the Echo report that in the summer of 2010, Torres wanted to know if he would be sold because of the club's ongoing financial problems. He was then told by the Reds' managing director Christian Purslow that key players need to stay at Liverpool in order to maintain the club's valuation ahead of a takeover.

However, the forward's frustration was heightened by Javier Mascherano being sold to Barcelona shortly after the aforementioned meeting with Purslow, according to the Echo.

Torres, now 32, is currently playing for Atletico Madrid. Last season he scored 11 goals and registered four assists in the 30 La Liga appearances. The Spanish striker also helped his team reach the Champions League final, however, Torres and co. were beaten by local rivals Atletico Madrid in the final.