What’s Torres Thinking?
First, full disclosure — yes, I am a Liverpool fan.
Nonetheless, in the same way that, as a lawyer, I try (successfully, I hope) to provide the same logical analysis of the merits of their case to clients regardless of my personal feelings towards them, the words which follow constitute my honest, good faith attempt at a rational and dispassionate analysis of the Torres transfer saga unfolding before our very eyes.
I have only two points to make.
Firstly, assuming that his motive is to win major trophies, the proposed move to Chelsea is not in Fernando Torres’s own best interests. It will not increase his chances of winning the league or the European Cup. Chelsea are currently 10 points adrift of league leaders United with an inferior goal difference. They have spent the past several months sliding inexorably down the league table. Their best players are all the wrong side of 30 — Drogba, Malouda, Lampard, Anelka and Terry. Lampard (32 years of age) is two years older than Gerrard (30 years of age). Luis Suarez is 24 years of age, whereas Didier Drogba is 32 years old and practises a style of play which relies heavily on speed and strength — the kind of physical virtues which deteriorate most with age.
Chelsea are not financially self-sustainable — in the absence of Mr Abramovich’s cash and propensity for converting interest-free loans into equity, they would be in deep financial trouble. But, Chelsea fans protest: Mr Abramovich is not going anywhere anytime soon, so the risk of their club financially imploding is minimal. Such an opinion is based on a rosy assessment of the political situation within Russia. However, the truth is that all political assessments are inherently uncertain, particularly where they concern a nation which has a recent history as traumatic as Russia’s. I live in Moscow. I sincerely hope that Senor Torres is aware that Moscow has suffered no less than eight major terrorist attacks over the past decade. So he should think very carefully before he places all his eggs in the basket labelled “Abramovich”.
By contrast, Liverpool have just been purchased by John W Henry’s New England Sports Ventures. Mr Henry has been one of the most successful owners (both on and off the field) in American sports over the last decade, breaking the Boston Red Sox’s 86-year Curse of the Bambino whilst maximising internally-generated revenue. He made his fortune legally via hedge funds. His teams are financially sustainable. His assets are not at constant risk of seizure by the state. He has just authorised the acquisition of one of the most highly-rated young strikers in Europe.
Secondly, as much as it pains me to say it, the available evidence demonstrates that Torres’s personal conduct, even in this modern day and age, is morally questionable at best, and downright dishonest at worst.
During Torres’s three-and-a-half year stay at Anfield, he took every opportunity to not only reiterate this appreciation, but pledge his love of, and fealty to, the club and its fans.
In a January 2009 interview with The Daily Mail, Torres declared (emphases added):
In October 2009, Torres told The Guardian (emphases added):
It is so important for me to get my first club medal with Liverpool …
When asked in a November 2009 interview with The Telegraph whether he was at Anfield to stay, Torres replied: “Who knows. But for the next four years, yeah. Deffo.”
For the avoidance of doubt, on 9 January 2011, Torres stated (emphasis added):
More than ever, we need to stick together. We must live in the present, from match to match.
These comments are entirely inconsistent with his submission of a transfer request less than three weeks later.
My first moral proposition is a simple one — if you want to leave, fine, but at least be honest enough to admit it and, if you can’t do that, at least have the decency to not say that you want to stay. In short, please don’t lie.
My second moral criticism relates to the timing of Torres’s transfer request. Instead of submitting his transfer request last summer, early this January transfer window or early next summer, Torres chose to submit his transfer request a matter of days before this transfer window closes. I am assuming that he is an intelligent young man. Therefore, he would be aware that by submitting his request at the last minute, he is depressing his own transfer value (and inflating his own wages) and denying the club full compensation and the reasonable opportunity to find a replacement.
The last minute nature of his transfer request means that there is only one bidder — Chelsea. If he’d submitted his transfer request last summer, early this January transfer window or early next summer, there would be multiple bidders — Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan at the very least. It doesn’t take a PhD in economics from MIT to work out that:
- multiple bidders = higher sale price; and
- lower transfer price = more money for a player’s wages.
Finally, Senor Torres should keep in mind that, unlike Chelsea, Liverpool is a club with a rich history and deep support, not only in England but all around the world in places like South Africa, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. I would advise Senor Torres against taking any extended trips to any of these destinations in the near future. Indeed, Spain, west London and the Tverskaya region of Moscow might be about the only places where he’ll be welcome for the foreseeable future.
My two cents is that if Ronaldo is worth £80 million and Ibrahimovic €69 million (plus Samuel Eto’o), then £35 million for Torres is laughable. Liverpool should hold out for at least £60 million, even if that means having to wait till the summer to sell him. In the meantime, it’d be in his own interests to play well to make himself a desirable acquisition for suitors. And if he doesn’t play well, benching him for a couple of months is unlikely to significantly adversely affect his transfer value given his achievements over the past three to four years.
Now that Torres has unequivocally stated in writing that he doesn’t want to stay, no efforts should be wasted on trying to convince him to stay long-term. However, the club must ensure that it gets, at minimum, fair market value for a striker who is still just 26 years of age (that is, younger than Ibrahimovic at the time of his €69 million transfer from Inter to Barcelona) and, unlike Ibrahimovic, boasts European Championship and World Cup winners’ medals and an exceptional Champions League goal scoring record.
If Torres wants to cynically treat Liverpool Football Club like a means to an end, then he will be treated like what he truly is — an economic asset owned by the club which will not be disposed of unless its sale price has been maximised in a public auction. Senor Torres should not easily forget that he works in the land which gave birth to the modern liberal market economy and now that he has shown his true colours, his departure should be treated dispassionately and rationally for what it is — the disposal of a valuable economic asset by its legal owner.
You have written a very interesting article and made some excellent points. However, I disagree with you on two points. First, Torres is not an “intelligent young man,” he is a footballer. Second, I would not expect him to behave in a manner consistent with what a person such as your self considers the moral high ground. I too am a passionate football fan and Liverpool supporter, but I have come to expect a lack of intelligence and morality from football players. I wish I wasn’t so cynical about it, but that is the way I see it. Hopefully, some outstanding player with a sense of morals and some intelligence will come along soon and prove me wrong.