Chelsea career
On moving to Stamford Bridge, Fernando Torres took over the vacant number nine jersey, but took 14 games before he found the net, a joyously received effort on a sodden Stamford Bridge pitch against West Ham.

It remained his only goal for the Blues that season but with a rare summer of recuperation following, hopes were high that 2011/12 would see the Fernando Torres that tormented Chelsea so much when he was wearing red.

His start had been encouraging, with an opening day display at Stoke which lacked only a goal. That eventually came at Old Trafford in a 3-1 defeat against Manchester United, but his afternoon will be remembered not for the instinctive flick over David De Gea's head but the missed open goal that followed in the closing stages.

The Spaniard bounced back quickly to open the scoring against Swansea with a smart touch and finish though, but he was then sent off, forcing him to miss three domestic games. In Europe though, he then netted twice in the 5-0 Champions League victory over Genk before enduring a frustrating spell in front of goal throughout the autumn and winter period.

His effort and general play in creating for team mates ensured the supporters continued to stick with him though, and positive performances were rewarded, with three goals in a fortnight at the end of March and a crucial assist for Salomon Kalou in Lisbon against Benfica.

The most memorable moment of his season was undoubtedly scoring the equalising goal in the Camp Nou as we came from behind to draw 2-2, securing our place in the Champions League Final, while a hat-trick against Queens Park Rangers seemed to suggest that the Spaniard is slowly recapturing the kind of form which made us secure his services initially.

Torres remained on the bench for the FA Cup Final victory against his former club Liverpool but did come on in Munich and played his part, winning the corner which Didier Drogba equalised from with two minutes to spare.

Torres started the 2012/13 season well, breaking the deadlock in our 3-2 Community Shield defeat to Manchester City, following it up with successive strikes in league games against Reading and Newcastle United.

He also turned in impressive displays in the away wins at both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, scoring the opening goal during the 2-1 win at the Emirates.

Torres received the second red card of his Chelsea career when he was controversially dismissed during the 3-2 home defeat against Manchester United. Replays clearly proved that the striker had been clipped by Johnny Evans, but referee Mark Clattenburg disagreed and booked him for simulation, his second yellow card of the game.

Crucially, Torres scored the decisive goal in our 3-1 Europa League win against Steaua Bucharest, a goal which took us through 3-2 on aggregate.

He then followed that up with a brace in the quarter-final first leg win over Rubin Kazan, while also opening the scoring in the away leg.

Torres got stronger as the season drew to a close. He opened the scoring in the Europa League final against Benfica with a well-taken goal, and won us the game on the final day of the campaign with a 76th-minute strike which secured a 2-1 win over Everton, his 22nd goal of the season.

Pre-Chelsea
Aged 26 at the time of his move from Liverpool, he had netted 65 goals in 102 league appearances for the Reds and 81 in 142 games in all competitions.

He originally moved to the Premier League aged 23 having spent the previous 12 years at Atletico Madrid, a club based a few miles from the town of his birth on the outskirts of the capital city.

In his time at Atletico, 'El Nino' (The Kid - his nickname in Spain) was the club's youngest player and youngest captain. His debut came aged 17 and he took the armband two years later.

His first full season there was a quiet start with just six goals from 36 league appearances, but that became 13 from 29 games the next year and the 20-goal mark was reached in 2003/04, Fernando's most prolific season in Spain and the year of his debut for the national side.

The player's subsequent emergence on the international stage and 75 goals in 174 Spanish top-flight games meant many clubs across Europe were after his signature and he chose to work under compatriot Rafael Benitez at Liverpool.

The transfer in July 2007 was valued at approximately £20 million, Luis Garcia going the other way, and Fernando's first goal for the Merseysiders was against Chelsea at Anfield, opening the scoring in a 1-1 draw after getting the better of Tal Ben-Haim. It was the first of seven goals in seven games against Chelsea. It is his best return against any English club.

He scored three hat-tricks on the way to 33 goals in his first season in England, becoming the first Liverpool player since a previous wearer of the number 9 shirt, Robbie Fowler, to break the 30-goal mark in one season.

His second season returned 17 goals (injury reducing his number of appearances) as his side finished second, three points and one place above Chelsea in the league table. In the 2009/10 season, despite Liverpool dropping down the table to seventh, Fernando accumulated a very healthy 22 goals in 32 games.

Before joining the Blues midway through 2010/11, Fernando made 26 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 11 times including both goals in Chelsea's November defeat at Anfield.

International career
He headed to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 already a winner of the European Championships at senior international level.

In his teenage years, Fernando had achieved top-scorer status for his country in both the Under 16 and Under 19 European Championships and he scored his first goal for the senior side against Italy aged 20, seven months after his first cap.

In the 2006 World Cup in Germany he scored three times in the group stage but Spain were beaten by France in the first knockout round. However there was no stopping his nation two years later at Euro 2008, Fernando scoring once on the way to the final and the only goal in that match in Vienna as Germany were defeated. It was Spain's first major piece of silverware since 1964.

In South Africa, Fernando struggled for full fitness and form having undergone surgery in April. As a result, Barcelona's Pedro took his place for a semi-final triumph over Germany.

Coach Vicente Del Bosque also left him out of the starting line-up for the final. Instead he came on in extra-time in the 1-0 win over Holland although he tore a muscle before the end.

Torres was selected as part of the squad for Euro 2012 and ended up walking away with the Golden Boot award after scoring three goals as Spain clinched their third successive major trophy.

He was left out of the starting line-up for the opening game against Italy, but scored a brace in the following game against Republic of Ireland. He scored the third goal in their 4-0 destruction of Italy in the final, before teeing up Chelsea team-mate Juan Mata for the fourth.

Torres won his 100th international cap in Spain's friendly against Saudi Arabia in September, 2012.

At the end of the 2012/13 season he was named in a provisional Spain squad ahead of the 2013 Confederations Cup.