Fernando Torres retires: ‘There aren’t many people who can break your heart, yet you still love them’ – A Liverpool fan’s tribute to El Nino

It’s said that you always remember your first love.

But that’s a lie, because my first love as a six-year-old Liverpool fan was Michael Owen – and then he joined Manchester United. He’s nothing to me.

My second love, Fernando Torres, him I’ll always remember... even though he also smashed my heart to smithereens.

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On Friday the Spaniard, now 35 – how time as flown – announced his retirement from football (and admittedly I forgot he had moved to Japanese club Sagan Tosu last year).

Chelsea got in there before Liverpool and were the first to wish him well.

Seeing him in a Blues shirt again was like seeing the love of your life walking hand in hand with another bloke on the street.

All of a sudden, all the feelings came back and my heart is broken all over again – but I try to focus on the good times.

There is no doubt Torres enjoyed the best form of his career at Anfield.

At his peak he was absolutely unplayable in a Reds shirt – just ask Nemanja Vidic.

MORE: Best and worst moments from Torres' career with Spain, Liverpool and, ahem, Chelsea

He had everything you could want from a striker and he quickly become one of the most beloved players in Liverpool’s recent history, our talisman and my favourite person in the world.

And it wasn’t just because of the way his hair flowed when he breezed past defenders, which he did a lot – just ask Vidic, again. Actually, ask pretty much any defender in the Premier League from that time.

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He was the ultimate frontman. He had pace, touch and vision. He was absolutely clinical. He could make a goal out of nothing. He made the difficult look ridiculously easy. He loved a volley. He had amazing hair.

He was the talisman in a period of mediocrity for the club, whose outstanding scoring record and almost telepathic connection with Steven Gerrard almost ended our wait for the Premier League title in the 2008/09 season.

Of course, Gerrard played with a host of top strikers throughout his Reds career, but none who he shared such a prolific partnership with.

Torres and Gerrard’s bromance – who can forget the moment he handed Fernando the match ball after his hat-trick against West Ham – only affirmed my own love for the Spaniard, and also reminds me that he didn’t just break supporters’ hearts when he moved to Chelsea.

I’ll never forget the look on Stevie’s face when he was asked in an interview about Torres’ move to London. It was the look of betrayal, a look of grief. A grief we all shared.

That grief was perhaps softened by the fact he just wasn’t the same player in a Chelsea shirt, and us fans were left more than a little smug we managed to get £50m for him.

But to be fair to Torres, the World Cup and Euros winner left Liverpool to win trophies at club level, and that’s exactly what he did.

Despite his injury troubles, he still went on to lift the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup for the Stamford Bridge side.

He won more silverware with Chelsea, he even played more games for Chelsea but, to me, he belongs to Liverpool.

He scored 81 goals in a Reds shirt, to only 45 for the Blues. At his peak at Anfield, he boasted a higher scoring ratio than Premier League legends Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer, compared to their three best consecutive seasons. He was deadly.

There will be some Reds out there who will never forgive him for jumping ship to Chelsea – one of biggest rivals at the time.

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But to me, and a lot of others I’m certain, he’s a Liverpool hero and always will be.

He is one of the best strikers Anfield – and the Premier League – has ever seen and not even the bitter memory of his exit can spoil it.

Happy retirement El Nino... now excuse me as I cry watching his Liverpool highlights.