The Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun has said that the striker Fernando Torres has not been at his best during the two years at Chelsea because he has been poorly managed by the West London outfit.

Fernando Torres was £ 50 million signing for Chelsea back in the January transfer window of 2011. Since joining the blues, Torres has been a shadow of his former self. He has managed to score less than one goal in three games. During this period, he has worked in the four different managers in the form of Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto di Matteo, and Rafael Benitez.

The Israeli midfielder Benayoun, who has himself seen very little first-team action at Chelsea, has said that Torres had not been welcomed from the first itself. He has stated that when Torres first arrived at the club, he was not selected on a regular basis. The presence of the intimidating Didier Drogba also did not do that striker any favours according to Benayoun. The 32-year-old spent last season on loan at Arsenal, while he was at West Ham in the first six months of this season. He played under Benitez at Liverpool before arriving at Chelsea in a £ 5 million deal. Due to the lack of options, Benayoun is expected to remain at the club till the end of the season.

“It has been a hard time for him. The situation from the beginning was managed bad with him. This is my opinion. When he came in, he was on the bench, then on the pitch and so he did not get the confidence when he came in. And with the £50m above his head, it is not easy for any player. This season he was scoring a few in a row and then another bad spell but he just needs to believe in himself, to keep doing the right movements,” Benayoun said.