Paul Scholes has claimed that he "would have loved" to have had Fernando Torres at former club Manchester United during the Spaniard's Liverpool heyday.
The 30-year-old made the move to the Reds from Atletico Madrid in 2007 for a fee of £21m, settling quickly to score 24 goals in his maiden Premier League campaign.
Torres then linked up with Chelsea for what was a British record transfer of £50m at the time, although he failed to reach his previous heights and scored just 20 goals across four seasons, before being loaned out to AC Milan where he has once more struggled to make an impact.
"What has happened to Torres is remarkable," Scholes told the London Evening Standard. "From the player he was in 2009, when he gave Nemanja Vidic such a hard time at Old Trafford, to the player he has become, has been one of those mysteries in football.
"I realise that at times at Chelsea, especially in 2012-13, he did have some decent goalscoring runs. But overall the decline has been sharp. At his best he was the kind of player I would have loved to have had at United. Then things changed for him at Chelsea."
In 10 appearances for new club Milan, Torres has scored one goal.
Daniel Lewis
