Fernando Jose Torres Sanz was born on March 20, 1984, to parents Flori and Jose, and spent the early years of his life living in Fuenlabrada, a large suburban town south of Madrid, with older brother Israel and sister Mari Paz.

His earliest memories are filled with long hot summers, kicking the ball around with his father, and listening to stories of the great players of the past through his grandfather.

But the first real organised game for the hotshot came while playing for Parque 84, competing in a two-day indoor tournament at a local sports centre.

Then only five, the striker admits he remembers very little about it, but from then on he was hooked on the beautiful game.

By the time he was 11, Torres was living the dream by signing for his boyhood team Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid came calling a year later but he was never interested in a move across the city to the Bernabeu.

Such was his potential, a £2million release clause was inserted into his contract at 15 and two years later he became the youngest player to play for Atletico at 17, breaking another record as he captained the side at 19 - the youngest player in the club’s history.

International recognition soon followed. Torres won his first international cap before he was 20.

His time in Madrid was to end in the summer of 2007 after Atletico's inability to secure a UEFA Cup spot, turning down a huge offer from Inter Milan to sign for Rafa Benitez’s for a fee of around £20million.

Prolific for the Reds, he marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player since Robbie Fowler in the to score more than 20 league goals in a season. The records continued to tumble and he also became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals.

A place in the FIFA World XI was his reward in 2008 and 2009. Torres also enjoyed success internationally as well in 2008 as he scored the goal to seal the European Championship for Spain in Vienna - the first of two European triumphs and a World Cup win in 2010.

But it wasn’t until January 2011 that Torres arrived in west London.

Chelsea broke the British transfer record to secure his services from Liverpool on a dramatic January transfer deadline day. At an eye-watering £50million, it remains the highest-fee paid by an English club.

Despite criticism for a modest goal-return, Torres’ Blues career has been littered with trophies. In his first full season he lifted the Champions League and FA Cup, adding the Europa League to his CV a year later, scoring in the final against Benfica.

He is on course for more glory with Chelsea under Jose Mourinho this year, with a domestic and continental double still very much a possibility for the Blues. Inter are rumoured to be considering another swoop for the striker in the summer but Torres has two years remaining on his contract.