Thursday, 19 June 2014

DESPITE DIEGO COSTA ARRIVAL, TORRES REFUSES TO LEAVE CHELSEA

Jose Mourinho wants to offload the Spaniard but the 30-year-old does not want to take a wage cut to move elsewhere and is happy to play second fiddle to their imminent signing

Fernando Torres is refusing to quit Chelsea despite the imminent arrival of Diego Costa, Goal understands.

Manager Jose Mourinho has made it clear to the Spanish striker that he has no long-term future at the club but Torres is prepared to play second fiddle at Stamford Bridge next season.

The 30-year-old has two years remaining on his £160,000-a-week contact and knows he will not be able to command such lucrative terms anywhere else.

There is interest in the forward from Torres’ former club Atletico Madrid and Inter but the two European sides would only be able to pay around half of his current wages.

The forward will not be forced out until he has an agreement over his contract. He is understood to be settled with his family in London and ‘comfortable’ with the prospect of even less playing time next season when Costa will spearhead the Chelsea attack.

As revealed by Goal on May 2, the Atletico front man has agreed a £35 million move to Stamford Bridge and exclusively told Goal of his excitement at joining “one of the greatest clubs in the world”.

Chelsea are reluctant to foot the bill needed to offload Torres, who has been such a disappointment since joining from Liverpool in January 2011.

The Blues’ £50m record signing could go out on loan late in the summer window but Chelsea would have to part-fund the move, and the Londoners would also have to pay him off if he were to transfer permanently.

Mourinho made little attempt to hide his frustration with Torres in the final months of last season, questioning whether he is a “real striker” following the Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain.

Torres scored just 11 goals in 41 matches in all competitions for the club last season, and has only netted 20 times in 110 Premier League appearances since moving to Chelsea.

The striker was a second half replacement for Costa on Wednesday night as Spain crashed out of the World Cup after just two games following a 2-0 defeat to Chile.

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