Torres Agrees to Leave Chelsea for Milan on Free Transfer
30 August 2014 10:16 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Fernando Torres is to have a medical at Milan on Saturday after agreement was reached between the Italian club, Chelsea and the player’s representatives to smooth what is, in effect, a free transfer, as reported by The Guardian.
The Spain striker, who cost a British record £50m when he signed from Liverpool in January 2011, will leave England after seven seasons in the Premier League and sign a two-year deal at San Siro after agreeing a compromise over his wage demands. He was initially reluctant to lower his £175,000-a-week salary.
Chelsea had been pushing the 30-year-old to make a decision to ensure they had enough time to secure a replacement before Monday’s transfer deadline and moves are being explored for the Queens Park Rangers striker Loïc Rémy and Roma’s forward Mattia Destro.
The latter would cost at least £20m, with the Italian club instinctively resistant to losing a key player so close to the cut-off. Rémy, in contrast, has a buyout clause in his contract set at £8.5m for clubs who finished in the top four last season and is therefore a far simpler option to pursue.
Another target, Monaco’s Radamel Falcao, is expected to join Real Madrid on loan for the year. Chelsea are intent on ending the window with three senior forwards and, having sanctioned Torres’s departure, have no option but to re-enter the market.
There is no fee involved in the Torres deal and Chelsea describe it as a two-year loan for a player who struggled to justify the record fee that had prised him from Anfield. However, they will take some comfort from saving upwards of £15m in wages over the two years that were remaining on his contract. It is understood he will depart without a pay-off to replace Mario Balotelli at San Siro.
THE GUARDIAN