It's the man who never expected to be in another Champions League final against the man who expects to be there every year.

Real Madrid’s meeting in Milan next Saturday with city neighbours Atletico Madrid brings Fernando Torres face to face with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Torres has already called it ‘the game of his life’, suggesting that winning football’s biggest domestic prize would top winning the World Cup with Spain in 2010.

Fernando Torres has referred to Atletico Madrid's Champions League final as the 'game of his life'

Torres warming up alongside Saul Niguez, who scored a key goal as Atletico beat Bayern Munich to advance

The 32-year-old has been an Atletico fan for his entire life and began his professional career with the club

And in an interview aired on Sunday he confirms it will mean far more than lifting the European Cup with Chelsea in 2012.

‘Nothing would beat winning the Champions League with Atletico,’ he says. ‘I won it with Chelsea, but I was not in a good place. I did not feel I was being treated well at the time — I felt lost.’

At 32 he is back playing for the team he supported as a boy — and the club that discovered him aged 12. He will lead the attack against Ronaldo whose future remains in the balance. The former Manchester United forward could win a fourth Champions League medal and then walk away from the Spanish capital.

Torres won the Champions League with Chelsea but admits he did not truly enjoy the success

Torres has no intention of walking away from Atletico and a new two-year deal likely to be signed at the end of the season. It is a long way from his Chelsea torment.

‘I don’t want to talk about those moments,’ he says. ‘My career is going so well at the moment, and I feel so at home and full of confidence that I do not want to relive those days.’

His heart might not have been in it when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the 2012 final, but this time it will be very different.

The striker scored a shock goal when Chelsea visited Barcelona to aid their progress to the final

Atletico have Europe’s meanest defences, but in Ronaldo they face a player who has scored as many goals in the competition — 16 — as Diego Simeone’s men have scored as a team.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak said on Saturday: ‘If we keep a clean sheet then we know we only have to score one goal.’

And Torres adds: ‘We know Real Madrid are a great team, with some of the best attacking players in the world, but there is a lot of confidence here. I have never played in a team with such spirit.

Jan Oblak, Atletico's goalkeeper, believes that a focus on keeping a clean sheet against Real Madrid is key

‘No player is playing for themselves, we all play for each other, the coach has built a mentality where we would all die for each other out there.’

If Atletico can keep a clean sheet then the statistics this season suggest the goal will come not from Torres but from their top scorer Antoine Griezmann.

Simeone said of the Frenchman’s development this season: ‘The key to improvement is listening and he listens. I think now he is among the three best players in the world.’

Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann has emerged as one of the best players in the world this season

DIEGO GODIN VS GARETH BALE - THE FIGHT FOR AIR SUPREMACY Atletico Madrid hardman Diego Godin know he faces a huge test when he confronts Gareth Bale in the final. The Uruguayan is a dominant force in the air yet no one has scored more goals with his head than the Wales star. Godin said: ‘Bale is a world-class player and we will need to be prepared against him.’ Bale also doubles Real Madrid threat on the counter and boss Diego Simeone is well aware of the danger. He said: ‘He didn’t play in the league game. We are expecting them to play on the break as they looked to against Manchester City in the first leg.’ Advertisement

If Simeone sees Griezmann’s emergence as now putting him in the world’s top three, has he pushed Ronaldo off of the Balon d’Or podium?

For many Ronaldo’s goals continue to speak for themselves. He needs two more goals to beat his Champions League record of 17 in one campaign and he has 51 goals in all competitions this season. But his critics point out the trophy return for his 260 career goals at Real Madrid has been poor with just one league and one Champions League.

Torres would love that return: ‘I have never been happier. I love being back here and hope I can stay.

'I am one of the senior players now and give advice where I can, but also I am learning from the younger players. You can feed off their energy.

Manager Diego Simeone believes that Griezmann has become one of the best three players in the world

‘Simeone has built something special here. We are no longer in awe of where Real Madrid and Barcelona are at — we are at the same level as them — and so much of that is down to Simeone.

'I am sure some of the biggest club’s in England would be interested in him, but he is happy here. He knows he is building something special.’

Simeone reacted angrily when asked how the scar of losing the final to Real Madrid two years ago was healing. ‘Very well,’ he snapped. And it was on to the next question. Atletico were 1-0 up in injury time when Sergio Ramos equalized before Real won 4-1 in extra time. Simeone is desperate to avenge that and Torres would love nothing more than to help him do it at Ronaldo’s expense.