Дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээний финалд хожлын гоол оруулсан Ферран Торрес Америкийн хэвлэлд ирээдүйнхээ талаар байр суурь илэрхийлсэн нь Барселона клубийн удирдлагын дургүйцлийг төрүүлж, талуудын хоорондох хурцадмал байдлыг нэмэгдүүллээ.
Тус клуб болон 26 настай довтлогчийн гэрээ ирэх оны зургадугаар сард дуусах бөгөөд одоогоор шинэ гэрээ байгуулах тал дээр ямар нэгэн тохиролцоонд хүрээгүй байна. Торрес ярилцлага өгөхдөө ямар нэгэн шийдвэр гаргахад бэлэн байгаа бөгөөд Барселона түүнийг үлдэхийг хүсэж буйгаа харуулж, хэлэлцээрт орох ёстой гэдгийг онцолжээ. Тэрбээр ирэх наймдугаар сарын 12-нд багтдаа эргэн очиж бэлтгэлдээ оролцох ёстой ч хөлбөмбөгт бүх зүйл хормын дотор өөрчлөгдөх боломжтойг дурдсан юм. Барселонагийн удирдлагууд болон хөгжөөн дэмжигчид Торресыг өөр клубийн нэр холбож олон нийтийн өмнө ярьсанд сэтгэл хангалуун бус байгаа аж.
Өнгөрсөн улиралд тэрбээр 49 тоглолтод оролцохдоо 21 гоол оруулж, 3 оновчтой дамжуулалт өгсөн ч тогтворгүй тоглолт үзүүлсэн юм. Роберт Левандовски багийг орхиж, шинэ довтлогч авах зорилт тавиад буй Барселона клуб Торресыг явуулахыг хүсэхгүй байгаа ч гэрээг сунгах асуудал санхүүгийн болон цалингийн хязгаарлалтаас шалтгаалан төвөгтэй хэвээр байна. Талууд ойрын долоо хоногуудад уулзаж ярилцахаар төлөвлөж байгаа бөгөөд Торресын цаашдын хувь заяа хэрхэх нь тодорхойгүй байна.
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Ferran Torres’ trip to New York took Barcelona by surprise on Monday — and his comments about his future in several interviews with American media raised tensions in an already tricky situation.
Torres is still on holiday following the World Cup — where he scored the winning goal in Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final on July 19. With his contract set to expire in June next year, no agreement has been reached over an extension with La Liga’s champions.
“I have a contract at Barcelona, but in football you never know,” the 26-year-old said on NBC when asked where he would be playing this season. “I am just waiting to make the right decision, but I don’t know it yet.”
More quotes from the forward emerged a few hours later, speaking to Sportico, where he also addressed reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain.
“Every time these teams want you it’s a good thing,” Torres said. “In football you never know what can happen, but the good thing is that, as I have a contract, I can wait and decide on my own.
“What do Barca need to do to keep me? They have to show me they want me, come to negotiate, and in the end it’s all about talking.”
As things stand, Torres will be able to negotiate with other clubs from January, without Barca’s approval, over a free transfer as he will be in the final six months of his deal.
“All I know right now is that I have to return to Barca by August 12 to train, but in football everything can change in a minute and I have to be ready for anything,” he added on CNN.
Torres’ decision to go public in this way raised eyebrows at Barcelona. Barca’s fanbase also seems unimpressed by him happily linking himself to other clubs, despite having failed to deliver on the expectations that surrounded his arrival from Manchester City in January 2022. He was signed for an initial €55million (£47.1m; $63.4m at current rates) plus a further €10m in add-ons.
Torres threw the ceremonial first pitch at a New York Yankees game on Tuesday (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
As unexpected as Torres’ words were, tension between club and player has been brewing for some time now.
The Torres camp believes Barca have not shown faith in him, with constant rumours over striker signings and the public pursuit of Julian Alvarez as their main target taking place while his contract is running down.
Sources close to Torres — who, like all those consulted for this article, asked to speak anonymously to protect relationships — stress that all scenarios are still open for him: from a departure this summer, to a contract extension, to remaining at the club without renewing.
Here, there is a good argument that Barca have let the situation run out of their control. Torres has leverage now because he is the only player in the senior squad with an established track record at No 9, after Robert Lewandowski was allowed to leave at the end of his contract in June. The Poland striker, who turns 38 on August 21, signed with MLS side Chicago Fire.
There is also growing pessimism within the Barca board about their chances of signing Alvarez from Atletico Madrid, who have publicly resisted any suggestion of selling their Argentina international, despite the 26-year-old telling ESPN during the World Cup that he wanted to leave.
Barca boss Hansi Flick spoke about Barca’s striker situation — and Torres — at a press conference on Monday, before the team flew back from a training camp at St George’s Park in England.
“I have complete confidence in (sporting director) Deco and we know we have to do something (about signing a new striker),” he said. “But it also depends on Ferran (Torres), so we will see what happens.”
Barcelona sources admit signing a new striker is the most pressing subject in their transfer business this summer, but that it won’t drastically change their approach with Torres.
The club’s view now is that Torres is not for sale unless he demands to leave. If that happens, Barca sources say they will be open to offers. Executives insist they have received no formal communication from the player’s camp since the World Cup.
Torres’s first goal at this summer’s World Cup came at a crucial moment (David Ramos/Getty Images)
The problem with Torres is that Barca believe his contract is not easy to improve. A senior club source put it like this: “He is on the right salary scale within the dressing room, a new contract can’t go much higher than that.”
The Athletic also revealed last month that Barca would have to pay Manchester City between €7-8million if he were to extend, owing to a clause in his move to the Camp Nou. That could take his total transfer fee to around €73m.
“The reality is that, over the past couple of seasons, the club has not seen reasons to believe Torres is the long-term starting striker Barca need,” another senior Barca source added.
Torres was inconsistent in front of goal last season, ending the campaign with 21 goals and three assists in 49 appearances, despite going 14 games without scoring between late January and mid-April.
So where might all this be headed? Barca have to make a decision. And talks between both sides are expected soon.
Do they need to make an effort and tie Torres down to a new deal, despite the chances of it going beyond the limits Deco and Flick set as reasonable? Is it worth sanctioning a sale even with their striker shortage?
A meeting between Barca and the player’s camp is expected to take place in the coming weeks, but right now there’s uncertainty around how it will end up.
This is not the first time Torres has been involved in a situation like this. In the summer of 2020, when he left his boyhood club Valencia to sign for Manchester City in a €25million deal, the forward spoke about what was something of a troubled departure.
“We asked the club (Valencia) to fulfill two out of three conditions we laid out in order to sign a contract extension,” Torres told Marca.
“One of them was that the owner Peter Lim got involved in the talks. The second one, to be among the team captains. It was my dream, and other clubs had done that to retain their young talents. The third was to be among the better-paid players in the squad.”
In that interview, Torres also argued that none of those requirements were met, and explained that he therefore opted not to extend his deal and sign for City.
Now is a different moment, and Torres is a different player and person. But pressure is building up for all parties, and a perfect outcome for everyone does not seem possible.
