Why Fernando Torres' Chelsea Move Was the Right One for Spain Striker

Fernando Torres may be out of first-team action due to injury and suspension, but it hasn't stopped Chelsea's Spanish international from making headlines this week.

In an interview with Chelsea TV (reported by Evening Standard), he opened up on his thoughts regarding his £50 million transfer from Liverpool in January 2011, questioning why so many have criticised the wisdom in his move to Stamford Bridge.

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It’s the feeling that I have had from the first day [that I am vilified for joining Chelsea]. There has been the situation going on with the club, the way the team are going and then my own way.

There has been an overreaction about everything. Overreact when I did that miss or if I have a red card or I hit the crossbar instead of scoring a goal. They never talk about the good things. More or less from the beginning to this day, it’s been the way I feel.

It was a good season [in 2012-13], a good number of goals [22] that gave us a chance to fight for trophies but if you ask the people, they will say he can do better, should do better. It’s like I said, with me good things are looking so-so and bad things are looking really bad.

For me, it’s never been a problem [Chelsea paying £50 million]. When I joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid, they paid €36 million and it was the same situation and never affected me. It’s not something that’s affecting me [now]. Everyone is talking about that but it’s not true.

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Torres puts forward a valid case.

He has been rightly criticised for his form at various stages of his Chelsea career, yet when things took an upturn last season, the superlatives were not as forthcoming.

That Torres helped Chelsea to the Europa League trophy—scoring six goals en route, including a great solo effort in the final—hasn't cut it for most. He was scoring in Europe, but the tendency was to focus more on his lack of goals in the Premier League.

And when he scored a fantastic strike this term against European champions Bayern Munich in the Super Cup, the response was to mock him—as the below tweet from UK newspaper Metro demonstrates—rather than celebrate a moment of individual brilliance from a player.

For all the flak he has received, with questions raised over his motives for joining Chelsea. However, we just need look at what he has achieved in the best part of three years at Stamford Bridge.

Since January 2011, Chelsea have won the Champions League, FA Cup—at Liverpool's expense, no less—and the Europa League.

Torres has more than played his part in those victories, too.

Alongside his goal in the Europa League final, it was the Spaniard who sealed victory over Barcelona in the 2012 Champions League semifinal with his dramatic strike at the Nou Camp. It's a moment that will live long in Chelsea folklore.

In contrast, since Torres left Anfield, Liverpool have had to settle for the League Cup and numerous midtable finishes in the league. This season, they're not in any European competition.

With that in my mind, its difficult to question why Torres shouldn't have departed Merseyside when he did. It was a bitter for Reds fans to swallow, but he had ambitions Liverpool could not fulfill, which Chelsea more than have.

With his lack of goals causing personal strife along the way, it is simple to suggest his move to West London has not been the success he would have hoped. Looking at the trophy cabinet, however, it says otherwise and for that reason alone, the Spaniard is right to feel a sense of satisfaction in having left the Reds.

"I’m so happy to have made that hard decision in my career to come to Chelsea,” he continued on Chelsea TV. “Over time you can see all the success that we’ve had as a team so everything was worth it.”

Indeed it was.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here: @garryhayes