"Real Madrid tried to sign me 4 times" - 22-year-old star explains why he rejected Los Blancos and signed for Barcelona 

Barcelona winger Ferran Torres has revealed that Real Madrid tried to sign him four times before he moved to the Camp Nou.

The 22-year-old claims that Los Blancos last attempted to capture his signature right after the 2018 World Cup in Russia. However, he decided to stay at his hometown club Valenica instead in order to earn more game time.

Torres eventually left the La Liga giants in 2020 when he joined Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, where he enjoyed moderate success. However, he failed to ever nail down a starting place due to immense competition for places.

The Spain international moved to Barcelona in January 2022, where he has endured a difficult start to life in Catalonia.

In an interview with COPE via Barca Universal, Torres revealed that Real Madrid attempted to sign him numerous times long before he signed for Barcelona. He claimed:

“Before, I had many offers from Real Madrid. But I was too young, it was not the time. Madrid tried to sign me 4 times. The last time was right after the World Cup in Russia, but I stayed at Valencia because I thought I would have more playing time there. I said that we would see what happened in the future. I think I made the correct choices.”

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Former Real Madrid target Ferran Torres opens up on difficulties since his January move to Barcelona

While Torres has been given plenty of opportunities by Xavi Hernandez since his move from City, his return of four goals in 18 Spanish top-flight games has earned him criticism.

When asked about his negative reviews from the press and supporters, Torres stated (as per the aforementioned source):

"The footballing world is full of criticism. You can’t think about these things too much, because they get in your head.”

However, the winger did admit:

“I’m a winger, and I know that my main job is not to score goals. I like to think that I help the team in many more ways. Obviously I am always striving to improve in every aspect, learning from others. I go back and watch plays where I made mistakes.”

Torres is currently on international duty with Spain as he attempts to cement a place in Luis Enrique's starting lineup ahead of the Qatar World Cup later this year. When asked about his excessive workload, the youngster added:

“It’s true that we’ve had a very heavy load of matches in recent months, and now we have this tournament before the season fully ends. But I can’t complain. Playing for the national team is always an honor.”