Torres: I could not say no to Chelsea

With Torres in line to make his debut for the Blues against his former club Liverpool in a ferocious encounter at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the striker faced tough questions on his switch from Merseyside to West London.

But he insisted that despite his fondness for his former team-mates he was relishing the opportunity to make his first start for Chelsea.

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"I am a Chelsea player now and I am really, really excited to start my first game for the club. It is a big motivation for me to play against the big players at Liverpool," he said.

Torres did, however, insist that should he find the net for his new club, he would not celebrate as a mark of respect for the Anfield club.

"First of all I have to play, then I have to score. However I have a big, big respect for the Liverpool fans, so I don't think so. I have only have good things to say about all the Liverpool people, especially the fans and staff at the club who made me feel like family."

The Spaniard's British transfer record fee of £50 million switch to SW6 has caused outrage in Liverpool. But Torres stated it was the ambition of Chelsea that he couldn't turn down.

"I want to win the Champions League. The ambition of this team is to win trophies every year. As soon as I knew Chelsea and Liverpool were talking I wanted to leave, that is the truth."

By Paul Wentworth

Gregg Davies

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.