Background and career
Ferran Torres García (born 29 February 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. Nicknamed “El Tiburón” (lit. 'The Shark') by former Barcelona manager Xavi, Torres began his career at Valencia, where he made his senior debut in 2017. He moved to Manchester City in 2020 and won the Premier League and the EFL Cup in the 2020–21 season. He departed for Barcelona in January 2022. After struggling in his first two seasons, Torres' form improved under coach Hansi Flick, and he won three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, and three Supercopa de España titles, including a domestic treble in the 2024–25 season. In 2026, Torres signed for Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of €50 million. Torres made his debut for Spain in 2020. He helped them win UEFA Euro 2024, and guided Spain to victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scoring the only goal in the final. Torres ranks as Spain's tenth-highest all-time top goalscorer.
Born in Foios, Valencia, Valencian Community. Torres joined Valencia CF's youth setup in 2006, aged six. On 15 October 2016, while still a junior, he made his senior debut with the reserve team by coming on as a substitute for Grego in a 2–0 Segunda División B home loss against Mallorca B. Torres was promoted to the B-side ahead of the 2017–18 campaign, and scored his first senior goal on 26 August 2017 by netting his team's second in a 4–1 home win over Peralada-Girona B. On 5 October, after being strongly linked to Barcelona and Real Madrid, he renewed his contract, which increased his release clause to €25 million. He was also promoted to the first team on 1 January 2018. Torres made his first team debut on 30 November 2017, replacing fellow youth graduate Nacho Gil in a 4–1 home routing of Real Zaragoza, for the season's Copa del Rey. He made his La Liga debut on 16 December, playing the last nine minutes in a 1–2 loss at Eibar, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to play in the league. Torres made his European and Champions League debut on 23 October 2018, starting in a 1–1 draw against Young Boys. He scored his first La Liga goal on 19 January 2019, ten minutes after coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 victory against Celta Vigo. He remained on the bench as Valencia defeated Barcelona 2–1 in the 2019 Copa del Rey Final at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville, on 25 May. On 5 November 2019, Torres scored his first Champions League goal, netting his team's last goal in a 4–1 home win against Lille, becoming Valencia's youngest goalscorer in the competition. On 23 November, Torres marked his 50th appearance in La Liga for Valencia with a 2–1 away defeat against Real Betis, becoming the youngest Los Ches player to play 50 league games at the age of 19 years and 254 days, breaking a 38-year-old record of Miguel Tendillo (19 years old and 351 days).
On 4 August 2020, English club Manchester City confirmed the signing of Torres on a five-year contract, until 2025, for a reported transfer fee of €23 million (£20.8 million). The club later revealed that Torres had inherited the shirt number 21 previously worn by club legend David Silva, a fellow Spanish player who also arrived from Valencia. Torres made his debut in City's first game of the season, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League. On 30 September, Torres scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–0 away win over Burnley in the EFL Cup. On 21 October 2020, he made his Champions League debut with Manchester City, scoring a goal in a 3–1 win against Porto. Just a week later, Torres started and scored again in the Champions League in a 0–3 victory over Marseille, becoming the youngest Spanish player ever to score in three consecutive appearances in the competition, at 20 years and 241 days old. On 28 November, Torres scored his first league goal for City in a 5–0 home win over Burnley. On 14 May, Torres scored his first hat-trick for City in a 4–3 away league win over Newcastle United. Having fallen out of favour during the 2021–22 season, mainly due to injury, Torres agreed a transfer to Barcelona for €55 million (plus conditional add-ons worth €10 million) in December 2021, to be completed the following month dependent on Barça selling players from their squad. He had scored 16 goals in 43 appearances.
On 28 December 2021, both Barcelona and Manchester City confirmed that Torres had completed a permanent move to Barcelona, signing a five-year contract until June 2027, with a buyout clause of €1bn. On 20 January 2022, Torres scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 3–2 loss against Athletic Bilbao at the end of extra time in the Copa del Rey round of 16. On 20 March 2022, he scored a goal and assisted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his first El Clásico, helping Barcelona to a 4–0 away victory against the league leaders. During his first six months at the club, Torres made 25 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals. Torres struggled with his form at the start of the 2022–23 season, and was often benched in favour of Ousmane Dembélé and new signings Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. On 19 February 2023, he put on a man-of-the-match performance in a 2–0 league win over Cádiz. The following day, Torres revealed in an interview that he had "fallen into a bottomless well", and had worked with a psychologist during his form slump.
On 21 January 2024, Torres scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona and provided an assist for João Félix on his 100th appearance for the club in a 4–2 away win against Real Betis. Later that year, on 11 December, in a thrilling Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund, Torres delivered a stunning performance by scoring a decisive brace, securing a 3–2 away victory for Barcelona. On 6 February 2025, he scored a hat-trick in the first half of a 5–0 away win over his former club Valencia in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. Two months later, on 2 April, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win over Atlético Madrid, clinching a 5–4 aggregate victory and a spot in the Copa del Rey final. On 26 April 2025, he once again showed up to score a late equaliser against arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, forcing the game into extra time, where Barcelona secured the win thanks to Jules Koundé's winner. He was named MVP of the final and was the competition's top goal scorer. On 11 May 2025, Torres secured a vital hat-trick of assists for Barcelona in a 4–3 win against Real Madrid. Four days later, the club said he had undergone surgery for appendicitis. Later that year, on 6 December, he netted a first-half hat-trick in a 5–3 victory away to Real Betis, bringing his tally to 11 goals in 15 matches in the 2025–26 season which marked his best scoring run ever in La Liga. He concluded the 2025–26 season by scoring 16 goals in La Liga, finishing as the club's joint-top scorer alongside Lamine Yamal.
On 15 August 2026, Torres joined Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year contract. The transfer fee was reportedly €50m. A week later, on 23 August, he made his debut as a substitute, scoring twice against Rennes — both goals assisted by his compatriot Fabián Ruiz — helping his new club secure a 2–2 draw and overturn a two-goal deficit. On 9 September, Torres started his first UEFA Champions League match for PSG against Slovan Bratislava on the first matchday of the league phase. He scored a hat-trick, contributing to his team's 6–1 victory. He thus became the second player in PSG's history to score five goals in his first four matches for the club, tying Zlatan Ibrahimović record. He was named Ligue 1's Player of the Month for September.
