Fernando Torres insists it was his decision to join Italian giants AC Milan on loan from Chelsea and not down to Jose Mourinho.
The Spaniard ended his three-year spell at Chelsea in the summer and decided to see out the rest of his contract in Italy, Torres also revealed he remains in regular contact with Mourinho.
‘Mourinho has always been good to me,’ says Torres. ‘The decision to leave was a personal one because I needed more, I needed to feel important.
‘Mourinho and I have a good relationship and still today we continue to talk to each other.’
The Chelsea manager brought in strikers Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba, while Torres was also linked with a move to former club Atletico Madrid during the summer.
‘There wasn’t a real option to return (to Atletico),’ admits the 30-year-old.
‘They speculated with it and I didn’t like that. I’ve said it many times, I won’t go to Atletico to retire.
‘I will go if I have motivation to compete because the Atletico of today is very different than when I was there. I follow them every weekend. It (returning) is an option that isn’t real.’
Torres also insists his Spain career is not over: ‘I want to think my cycle in the national team hasn’t ended.’