Ex-Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard was a big fan of Spanish striker Fernando Torres as he saw first hand how devastating the Atletico Madrid Academy graduate can be to the opposition defenders. The admiration that Liverpool legend Gerrard has for Fernando Torres was evident in a recent video that surfaced online earlier this week as the current Rangers boss waxed lyrical about Torres who retired from football two years ago at the end of his contract at Japanese club Sagan Tosu.

According to Gerrard, Fernando Torres was an exceptional player blessed with power, pace and excellent finishing ability. He went on to say that the best spell of his career was during his time at Liverpool.

Liverpool signed Torres from Spanish La Liga giants Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2007. The Reds paid €38m to secure his signing from Atletico Madrid whom he had captained at a young age thus making history as the youngest player to captain Atletico Madrid till date.

Torres was a key player at Liverpool until he made a controversial move to Chelsea in January 2011. The Blues paid £50m to sign the Spaniard from Liverpool and he went on to win the Champions League title in his first full season at Stamford Bridge.

His time at Chelsea was largely underwhelming despite winning trophies as he failed toreprise the form from his Liverpool career.

In a recent interview with Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard revealed how Fernando Torres made him a better player during their time together at Anfield though he went for Uruguayan international Luis Suarez when asked to pick between the Atletico Madrid striker andTorres who could come out of retirement in the coming weeks after the former AC Milan and Chelsea player hinted in a recent Instagram post that he’s ready to return to the pitch.