The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsFootballers are often criticised when they show a lack of respect or the improper conduct towards their club, but what about the clubs that have treated their players poorly?
This often slips under the radar as it is easy to judge a footballer when they are not performing but there may be an underlying problem; sometimes blatantly obvious or less visible. Here are five players that could be argued to have been mistreated by their employers.
- Fernando Torres – Chelsea
This may be a controversial choice but it was evident Fernando Torres didn’t enjoy his time at Chelsea as much as he did at Liverpool. Before joining Chelsea there was no doubt over the Spaniard’s ability as he scored 85 goals in 216 appearances during his first spell at Atlético Madrid and 81 in 142 for Liverpool. Something changed after his transfer to Chelsea in 2011 however, maybe the pressure of his £50 million price tag got to him. He had high expectations on his shoulders as he was going to be spending the peak of his career at the club and everyone was expecting the same goal return witnessed at Liverpool.
Torres was involved in four of Chelsea’s Premier League seasons, scoring just 20 goals with eight being his highest season tally. The criticism was immense and the crowd did eventually get on his back for not living up to his price tag. Torres was given time to settle but as each season went on his league goal scoring record wasn’t improving and he was on the end of some hostility. Despite the poor form in the league he was very good on the European stage, scoring 16 goals in 40 appearances, a key contribution to Chelsea’s Champions League title in 2011/12 and Europa League title in 2012/13. His involvement in these tournaments was instrumental in the club’s success and the way he was cast off from the team, moving onto AC Milan and Atlético Madrid seems a little harsh.
