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FOOTBALL

Adiós el Niño: Spain’s footballing legend Fernando Torres announces retirement

Fernando Torres, the former Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea forward who won the World Cup with Spain, announced Friday he was retiring.

Adiós el Niño: Spain's footballing legend Fernando Torres announces retirement
Fernando Torres is retiring. Photo: AFP

“I have something very important to announce. After 18 exciting years, the time has come to put an end to my football career,” Torres, 35, said on Twitter.

Torres currently plays for Japanese side Sagan Tosu.   

“Next Sunday, the 23rd at 10:00AM, local time in Japan, I will have a press conference in Tokyo to explain all the details. See you there,” he added.

Torres left Atletico last summer to play in Japan after returning to his boyhood club in 2015.

He played 334 times in total for Atletico, scoring 111 goals. Torres also made 142 appearances for Liverpool, finding the net 81 times, and scored 45 goals in 172 matches for Chelsea.

Torres was a key member of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad.

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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