Hicks: Torres is not for sale
17 Jun 2008 - 14:36:34
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has told Chelsea to forget about trying to prise star striker Fernando Torres away from Anfield with a £50million bid.
Recent reports had suggested new Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has made the Spain hot-shot his main transfer target when the takes office at Stamford Bridge in July.
However, just days after Reds chief executive Rick Parry warned Chelsea off making a bid, American co-owner Hicks has also issued a hands off warning.
Torres scored 33 goals in all competitions during a sensational debut season on Merseyside following a £20million move from Atletico Madrid last summer.
"There is no price at which we would consider selling Fernando Torres," a defiant Hicks told the Liverpool Echo. "The Chelsea rumours in the media are total rubbish."
Speaking earlier in the week, Parry also gave reports of a deal for Torres short shrift, saying: "The only interest we have had in Fernando Torres seems to have been generated by certain newspapers.
"We have certainly had no contact whatsoever from Chelsea. Any speculation suggesting otherwise is categorically untrue.
"But if they were to make contact they would receive a very short answer. Fernando Torres is not for sale."