TORRES SAYS HE'S STAYING IN MADRID

Last updated : 26 July 2006 By Ed

The player:

"I am here for the pre-season training schedule, just like last year, and I have no intention to leave.

"I want to stay here. There has been a lot of talking while I've been away on holiday about my possible departure and so much has been said about my future but the reality is that I'm here for another year. If I'd wanted to leave Atletico Madrid, I would have done it years ago.

"The fans haven't heard me say I want to leave, and I feel fine here. I repeat, if I had wanted to go I could have, because I've had offers. Manchester United and Inter are great teams; big clubs have come for me and they haven't made me change my mind. I'm an Atletico Madrid player, I have a contract to run and I hope to complete it."

 

The Times:

No sooner were Sir Alex Ferguson and Ruud van Nistelrooy reunited yesterday for the first time since their acrimonious falling-out a little more than 11 weeks ago did news filter through from Spain that Fernando Torres intends to remain with Atlético Madrid.

If the Manchester United manager's mood worsened the moment he laid eyes on Van Nistelrooy, it is unlikely to have been improved by yet another high-profile snub, this time from the striker he had identified as a replacement for the unsettled Holland forward.

Torres's claim to want to stay at the Vicente Calderón, where he is contracted for another two years, may not necessarily signal the end of United's interest in the Spain forward, but it would take an extraordinary turn of events for Ferguson to prise him away.

It also represents another blow to the manager's attempts to bolster his squad, which he has yet to do with a single signing this summer, even though the start of the new season is only 25 days away.

Also of concern is the failure to find a new home for Van Nistelrooy, although United expect to sell him to Bayern Munich or Real Madrid within the next seven to ten days.

 

The Torygraph:

Spain striker Fernando Torres has announced that he will stay at Atletico Madrid.

The Primera Liga club held a press conference in Madrid yesterday, at which Torres confirmed: "I want to stay. If I had wanted to leave Atletico Madrid I would have done it years ago."

"I feel fine here. There has been a lot of discussion about my possible exit but I am here for another year. I'm not waiting for a team to buy me and I don't intend to listen to offers."

The Atletico Madrid captain, 22, has been the club's top scorer in each of the last four seasons and is a regular fixture in the national side, for whom he scored three goals in Germany.

Torres' representative, Antonio Sanz, had earlier hinted that his client would stay when he said: "Neither us, nor the club, has received an offer from Manchester United, or any other clubs for that matter."