Transfer Latest: Fernando Torres to Play for Sagan Tosu in Japan
Jul 11, 2018 at 5:09 PM
Former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid striker, Fernando Torres has confirmed he will sign for J-League club Sagan Tosu.
Fernando Torres left the Spanish club at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Torres had been in negotiations with Sagan Tosu several weeks ago, though talks reportedly fell through. However, a breakthrough in negotiations saw the 34-year-old finally rubber-stamp his move to Japan.
Sagan Tosu are currently 17th in the J-League. They are just one place above bottom spot. The team only won just three of their 15 games so far this season.
The Japanese side appeared to have gazumped the likes of the Australian A-League. Both Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC got linked to a potential move. The Sky Blues recently pocketing around $2 million in the transfers of both Bobo and Adrian Mierzejewski.
Torres was also heavily linked with a move to the United States or China. But he has decided to follow his former Spain team-mate, Andres Iniesta. The midfield maestro had joined Vissel Kobe, to Japan after confirming he received a multitude of offers. Torres told the media on Tuesday,
“We have had proposals from all continents. My new team will be the Japanese side Sagan Tosu. Sagan Tosu were one of the first clubs to be interested in me, they have convinced me with the project. I think Japan and the Japanese League is going to be a great experience, they have made a great effort and they believe that I can be one of the solutions so that the team returns to the place where it has to be.”
“I’ve had offers from France, Germany, even some options from Spain, but at no time did it go through my head to go to a European team, I wanted a new challenge in a totally different place,” he added.
Capped over 100 times by Spain, Torres was also in La Roja’s squad as they won the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, and also featured in the 2010 World Cup-winning squad.