Background and career
Fernando José Torres Sanz (Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando ˈtores]; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid B. Due to his consistent goalscoring as a young player, Torres came to be nicknamed El Niño ('The Kid'), which stuck with him throughout his career. In his prime, he was regarded as one of the best strikers in the world and was known for his pace, prolific goalscoring, and technical abilities.
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system to the first team. He made his debut in 2001 and left the club with 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Torres joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007 and became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals. In 2008, he finished third for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year. Striving to compete for trophies, Torres left Liverpool in January 2011 to join Chelsea for a Premier League record transfer fee of £50 million, which made him the most expensive Spanish player in history. At Chelsea, he won the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Europa League. Torres went on to have a brief stint at AC Milan before returning to Atlético Madrid, where he won the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League. He signed for Japanese club Sagan Tosu in July 2018, before retiring from professional football after the 2019 season.
In 2003, Torres made his debut for Spain in a friendly against Portugal. He was capped 110 times and is his country's third-highest top goalscorer with 38 goals. With Spain, he participated in six major tournaments: UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012, and the 2014 World Cup. Spain won the 2008, 2010, and 2012 tournaments and Torres scored in the finals of both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. He won the Golden Boot for scoring the most goals in the 2012 tournament.
Born in Fuenlabrada, Community of Madrid, Torres loved football as a child and joined his first youth team, Parque 84, at age five. His grandfather was an Atlético Madrid fan.
Torres began playing football as a goalkeeper. At age seven, he began playing as a striker for Mario's Holanda, the neighbourhood's 'indoor football' club, using the characters from the anime Captain Tsubasa as inspiration. At age 10, he joined Rayo 13 and scored 55 goals in his first season. He later joined Atlético's youth system at age 11 in 1995.
How Fernando Torres makes money
Torres completed his move to Chelsea on a five-and-a-half-year contract on 31 January 2011 for an undisclosed fee reported to be £50 million, which set a new record for a British transfer and made him the sixth most expensive footballer in history.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
