Torres already regrets Liverpool exit.
Last night brought about the realisation that will haunt Fernando Torres for the rest of his career.
Minutes after breaking the British transfer record, he sat stonefaced in front of an in-house camera crew and expressed his delight at finally securing a move to Chelsea.
But as he talked about his switch being "destiny", the look of dread in his eyes that accompanied his monotone spiel suggested otherwise.
Somewhere amidst £50million worth of footballer sat a little boy lost from Fuenlabrada.
In that brief moment when it dawned on him that he had sold out on those core beliefs he had harboured growing up in the Madrid suburb, 'The Kid' truly lived up to his nickname.
It will live long in his memory as well as in those of the Liverpool supporters who feel betrayed by his deadline day defection to Stamford Bridge.
Torres went on record last summer, following his return from the World Cup, to dismiss fears that he was set to leave by insisting his commitment to Liverpool was no different to that on the day he arrived. Throughout the recording, his eyes beamed and so did his smile.
By comparison, his West London screen debut was morose and the attempted sideswipe at his former employers was another example of the child within trying to convince himself he had played no part in any wrongdoing.
Throughout his three-and-a-half-year stay at Liverpool, fans were hoodwinked by Torres's countless sound bites about how he was proud to play for a 'trabajador' - a humble, hard-working club in Spanish - and live in a city with an equally significant history.
But his decision to switch to a club whose general ethos is the complete opposite has shattered illusions within the fan base that he was 'one of them'. He was anything but.
It was perhaps testiment to the powers of persuasion 'Brand Torres' - the collective term used to describe the striker and his representatives Bahia Internacional in some private quarters - held over supporters to the point that every word he uttered was perceived as gospel.
In isolation, incidents such as the armband presented to him by friends, with the words 'We'll Never Walk Alone', just months before joining Liverpool appeared an innocent coincidence.
But the relentless PR offensive undertaken by Torres and Bahia has alerted Kopites to his possible motives and view this and other instances in an understandably cynical light.
Had he quit Anfield in the summer, when fears of administration loomed large under George Gillett and Tom Hicks' reign, his move would have been understood.
Engineering a move at the beginning of the transfer window as Roy Hodgson's short-lived tenure as manager was drawing to a close, too, would have been met with disappointment but also a begrudging acceptance given Liverpool's fortunes this season.
But to leave a club under the management of Kenny Dalglish, who has united all factions, and owners who are already backing up their pledge to make Liverpool great again with actions, speaks more about a player who had mentally checked out a very long time ago.
Like Michael Owen before him, Torres left Liverpool in a bid to collect silverware, but Steven Gerrard, who himself twice turned down Chelsea, put it best when he said that lifting trophies with the club meant "a lot more than winning seven or eight trophies somewhere else."
Owen's lasting legacy was tarnished by his actions and Torres has followed his predecessor in the Anfield front line down this particularly murky path. Liverpool had the last laugh and if recent history is a trustworthy benchmark, they will do so again.
Both had the potential to become eternal legends at Anfield but instead chose to pursue the gravy train in the hope of a quick fix. Owen found out this to his cost and in time Torres will too. The little boy from Fuenlabrada trapped within already knows this.
Please note: This is a comment piece and the opinions expressed in this item are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the stance or opinions of the management and owners of Click Liverpool.
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fascinated me, and it's something i thought last night after seeing the interview.
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can i just says, this is just mine, and the reporters opinions. so don't flame me
