Fernando Torres is refusing to make any promises he might regret to the fans at his new club Serie A side AC Milan but he said on Tuesday he hopes they will see the clinical goalscorer of old.
Torres, 30 – scorer of 38 goals in his 116 appearances for Spain – has been given a chance to reinvigorate his career after an underwhelming spell at English Premier League side Chelsea, where he scored just 45 times in 172 appearances after his then British record £50 million (Dh302.2m) move in January 2011 from Liverpool.
“I believe it doesn’t serve any purpose to make promises (to the fans), I hope that they will see the goalscorer that I always was,” he said at his first press conference since he sealed his two season loan.
“I promise that I will always give my maximum.”
Torres, who scored the goal that secured Spain the Euro 2008 title with a 1-0 win over Germany and ushered in four years of dominance in world football, said there was a sense of irony about his career.
“Over the years I have won more with Chelsea (the 2012 Champions League and 2013 Europa League) but scored more often for Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.
“At Milan I start from zero.”
Torres, who has been left out of the first Spain squad Vicente del Bosque selected after the World Cup disaster where the defence of their title ended in the group stage, said 41-year-old Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi, a top striker in his day for Milan (he played for them from 2011-12 scoring 73 times in 202 games), would get the best out of him.
“His passion and his will to win is exactly the same level as when he was a player,” said Torres.
“I am sure he will know how to extract the best out of me.”
Torres will hope to make his debut when the Serie A action resumes later this month after the international break.
He was in the stands at the San Siro on Sunday as Milan made a dream start to the Serie A campaign under Inzaghi, beating Lazio 3-1.
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