Atlético Madrid deny Torres interest

The excitement over the possibility of Fernando Torres heading back to Spain didn't last very long. Atlético Madrid have apparently denied -- and quite vehemently, at that -- any interest in the 30-year-old striker, contradicting a Eurosport report that a delegation from the defending La Liga champions had been in London negotiating a transfer with Chelsea.

While that's a little disappointing, it's also not too much of a surprise. There's no good reason bar nostalgia for Atlético to want Torres back unless he was willing to take a huge paycut, and there's no much reason for Torres to take a huge paycut when he can make £10 million a season where he is now. But this story came from somewhere, and it's interesting to speculate just how it happened. Atlético Madrid obviously didn't leak it, but Chelsea might have if they were looking for suitors, and Torres' group might have if he was desperately trying to escape Stamford Bridge. Or it could just have been a major misunderstanding on Eurosport's part.

Anyway, it was nice while it lasted.