Spanish striker Fernando Torres has announced that he will be joining forces with J-League side Sagan Tosu. Torres quit Atletico Madrid last month after spending 11 seasons with them across 2 spells.
The 34-year old said, “We have had offers from every continent. My new team will be Sagan Tosu of Japan. I have had offers from France, Germany and even one from Spain but at no point did I ever think about going to another European team. I wanted a new challenge in a completely different place.”
Founded in 1997, Sagan Tosu has been in the top flight of Japanese Football since 2012. Their best performance in the J League was a 5th place finish in 2012 and 2014. Last year, they finished 8th in the table but this year, they are battling relegation as they are placed second last in the table after 15 games.
Torres is the club’s only second non-Asian player in the current team alongside Colombia’s Victor Ibarbo. South Korea’s Jung Seung-Hyun became the club’s first ever footballer to feature in the FIFA World Cup. However, he spent all the time on the bench as South Korea were eliminated in the group stages.
Torres is the second Spanish player who has recently decided to ply his trade in Japan. His former teammate Andres Iniesta has joined Vissel Kobe who are currently 6th in the standings.
