It has taken nearly eight years since he signed for Liverpool in August of 2007, but Fernando Torres is finally back home.
Once regarded as one of the world's top talents due to his good form for Atletico Madrid and then for Liverpool, the Spanish striker suddenly became the butt of cruel jokes and memes after making a £50 million move to Chelsea in 2011.
The pressure, perhaps, of being the then-most expensive Premier League signing got to him, which saw him rack up a dismal 20 league goals during a very miserable three and a half seasons at Stamford Bridge. A loan spell to Milan followed, in which the 30-year-old had hoped to kick-start his career in a less stressful environment due to the Rossoneri not featuring in any kind of European competition and the fact that the spotlight on Serie A is not as harsh as it is on the Premier League.
However, his woes continued, and after just one goal for the Diavolo, he again was on the move--this time to boyhood club Atletico Madrid. Still, despite his struggles, the fans were more than happy to welcome their hometown idol back to the Vicente Calderon.
Welcome home, El Niño: Over 40,000 fans flooded the stadium to welcome Torres back to the stadium where he began his professional career
Although he's known to wear the no. 9 jersey, Torres will wear no. 19 as it has already been taken by new striker Mario Mandzukic
His new teammates also seem quite excited about bringing him on board, with new signing Antoine Griezmann and defensive stalwart Diego Godin both dedicating their goals in Atleti's 3-1 win over Levante this weekend.
As the Italian transfer window does not open until tomorrow, Torres was unable to feature against Levante. However, fans may not have to wait long to see him in action as he may be able to take part in Atletico's upcoming games against Real Madrid and Barcelona this week.
