Torres joining Japan’s Sagan Tosu

Former Spain striker Fernando Torres has announced he is joining Japanese top flight side Sagan Tosu as a free agent after leaving Atletico Madrid last month.

“We have had offers from every continent. My new team will be Sagan Tosu of Japan,” the 34-year-old Torres said at an event held at the gym he owns in Madrid on Tuesday.

“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.”

Torres, who spent the bulk of his career with boyhood club Atletico across two spells, has also played for Liverpool, Chelsea and AC Milan and won the World Cup and two European Championship titles with Spain.

Sagan Tosu have been in Japan’s top flight J.League since 2012. In 2017, they finished eighth in the division but are in a relegation battle halfway through the current campaign.

Torres becomes the second high-profile Spaniard to head to Japan in the last few weeks after former Barcelona great Andres Iniesta agreed to join Vissel Kobe in May.