Fernando Torres reveals why he joined Chelsea after accusing Liverpool owners of “lying” to him

Fernando Torres claims he joined Chelsea in 2011 after Liverpool’s owners “lied” to him.

The former Spain international, 36, controversially swapped Anfield for Stamford Bridge in a £50million move after scoring 81 goals in just 142 games.

He told talkSPORT: “I was really happy at Liverpool.

“But if you remember at that time the club was about to be sold and it was a very difficult situation.

“They sold all their best players, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Rafa Benitez left, and they started bringing in young players.

“So they needed maybe six, six, seven years to create a winning team again and I didn’t have that time because I left my home in Atletico to win trophies.

“Unfortunately there were many lies by the owners that Liverpool had at that time, and in the end I needed to find my own way which was Chelsea, who I thought would be the club who would offer me the chance of winning trophies.”

Official: Chelsea legend Branislav Ivanovic seals West Brom move

Former Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has sealed a return to the Premier League after signing a one-year contract with West Brom.

The Serbian left the Blues in February 2017 and has spent the last three-and-a-half years in Russia with Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Ivanovic, 36, becomes Slaven Bilic’s sixth signing of the summer following the arrivals of Grady Diangana, Matheus Pereira, Cedric Kipre, David Button and Callum Robinson.

The defender told West Brom’s official website that: “The Premier League is the best league in the world,” he told West Brom’s official website.

“I need to challenge myself and I am ready for the challenge. I am really happy to be back playing in the Premier League.

“I hope I am going to be successful here. I have a lot of ambition and I want to prove a lot of things. I will give everything for the team.”

Ivanovic won 10 major trophies at Stamford Bridge in nine years at Chelsea – including the Champions League in 2012.

Photo Credit: Twitter/WBA

Fernando Torres heaps praise on Roman Abramovich, says “Chelsea are building a fantastic team”

Former Chelsea and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has hailed the good work of club owner Roman Abramovich and manager Frank Lampard.

The Spanish striker netted just 46 times in 172 appearances for the Blues – although his last-gasp goal against Barcelona in the 2012 Champions League semi-final is etched in Chelsea folklore.

And he thinks the good times are on their way back to Stamford Bridge as he hailed Lampard’s fine work.

“I think they [Chelsea] are building a fantastic team. Not just for this season but the future,” he told TalkSport.

“They will be close. I don’t know if they can compete with Liverpool and Man City. Hopefully they can go for the Premier League right until the end but I think Liverpool will still be stronger than Man City or Chelsea.

“In the next two or three years, the Premier League, again, will be the top league in the world. The future stars are going there. It’s an exciting moment for Premier League fans.”

The Blues have been the most active club this summer, spending big on Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech among others.

Havertz’s fee alone is reported to have been in the region of £72m in a transfer window that has Roman Abramovic’s spending surpass £200m.

“I think he has a really good project and huge ambition,” he said of Chelsea’s owner.

“They are building again with Lampard. They have the mentality to be one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“I’m sure in the coming years that Chelsea will win more trophies.”

Gattuso to leave Victor Osimhen on bench for Serie A season opener

Reports in Italy suggest that Gennaro Gattuso is planing to leave Victor Osimhen on the bench to begin with in Napoli’s Serie A season opener with Parma.

The coach was expected to test out his starting XI during a friendly against Sporting CP last night, but that was cancelled at the last minute after the Portuguese team had several COVID-19 positive tests.

According to Radio Kiss Kiss, Napoli will initially leave record-breaking signing Osimhen on the bench against Parma on Sunday.

Instead, it will be a classic 4-3-3 formation with Dries Mertens flanked by Matteo Politano and Lorenzo Insigne.

Osimhen requires more of a 4-2-3-1 system with more players fanning out in support of the Nigerian striker.

Timo Werner provides injury update after big ice pack was strapped to his leg

Chelsea striker Timo Werner has eased any fears that he might miss the big game against defending champions Liverpool after picking up a slight injury in the 3-1 win over Brighton.

Werner was handed his debut, along with Kai Havertz, for Chelsea’s opening Premier League game against Brighton.

And the German striker was immediately involved as he won Chelsea a penalty after being taken down by Mat Ryan in the box.

Jorginho stepped up to put Chelsea 1-0 up and even though Brighton drew level after the second half, goals from Reece James and Kurt Zouma helped seal all three points.

Werner ended up playing the full 90 minutes, although his influence on the game dwindled in the latter stages.

And there appeared to be good reason for Werner’s lack of involvement towards the end of the game.

That’s because after the full-time whistle the 24-year-old had a big ice pack strapped to his right leg, sparking some concern whether he had picked up an injury issue.

When asked how he picked up the knock, Werner said to Sky Sports: “Yeah, it was from the penalty. The knee of the goalkeeper hit me directly in the muscle and it went very hard.

“For the rest of the game, it hurt a lot and I couldn’t do some movements because the muscle went very hard, but at the end, I’m happy that we won.

“I don’t care about this. We played a good game today, we did well. I’m happy that I got the penalty because I think it’s very important for our game.

Photo Credit: premierleague.com

Former Chelsea star rejects David Luiz, Willan’s offer to join them at Arsenal, says he’ll return to Stamford Bridge instead

Former Chelsea star Oscar has revealed old team-mates Willian and David Luiz are trying to convince him to join Arsenal – but he would prefer a return to Stamford Bridge.

Oscar racked up 203 appearances in his five-year stint with the Blues, scoring 38 goals and picking up two Premier League winners’ medals.

The midfielder departed in January 2017 to seal a £60million switch to Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG, where he remains to this day.

And former Blues team-mates Willian and Luiz, who both left Chelsea to join Arsenal over the past 12 months, are determined to bring their fellow Brazilian to the Emirates this summer.

Oscar told Fox Sports Brasil: “They called me, they had to call me. Because we have good communication. Sometimes I talk to them. They said ‘come to Arsenal, come here’

“But for me it’s a little more difficult. I have a contract with Shanghai, it’s a little more difficult to leave.

“Willian had finished the contract. I was happy that they got together again. And happy that Willian is happy.

“The most important thing is to be happy, regardless of the place. So I hope they are happy there.”

Nevertheless, Oscar insists he would rather head back to Chelsea if a return to Europe is on the cards, reports the Daily Star.

“I really want to go back to Europe. [But] Not now. At the moment I’m well here in China, I still have my contract here, which I hope to fulfil,” he added.

“And I had approaches, I had approaches from some clubs to go back.

“But the situation is difficult for me to return, it’s a little more complicated for me to get out of here. So I hope to fulfil my contract here calmly and then yes I think about going back to Europe.

“Of course the first club I’d choose if I could go back to Europe is Chelsea, for sure, which is the club that I built a very beautiful history with.

“And when I was a child I watched the Italian league a lot because there were many Brazilians there. So there are some teams from Italy that I like a lot, like Inter, Milan. So I’d think about going to the Italian league if I return one day.”