"Acting like he's Ronaldo at his peak": The internet has had enough of Ferran Torres
Since scoring Spain's winning goal in the World Cup final, he has been everywhere – and not everyone is thrilled with his new persona. The absurd rating he gave himself in FIFA, his surprise at his own goal tally for Barcelona, and his demand that the club "show they want him" have sparked a wave of mockery.
Sometimes one moment is enough to change an entire career. For Ferran Torres, that moment came in the 106th minute of the World Cup final against Argentina. The striker found the net at the most crucial moment of all and gave Spain the second World Cup in its history.
"It was the greatest moment of my life, I watched it on loops," he said afterwards.
But in the month that has passed since that evening, Torres has become not only one of the most talked-about people in Spanish football but also a target for quite a few jabs online. The win made Torres highly sought after off the pitch as well. He went on a media tour in the USA, interviewed with Vogue and Men’s Health, and spoke about the winning goal, life after the World Cup, and dealing with his new fame. However, some of the lighter segments from that tour became ammunition for his critics. In one, Torres was asked to rate himself in EA Sports FC, and users were stunned when he said he deserved a 90 in the shooting criterion. In another video, he was asked to guess how many league goals he had scored for Barcelona. When he discovered the number was 41, he looked surprised and admitted he was convinced he had scored more. After these statements, compilations of the striker's misses began to be uploaded online to remind everyone what kind of player he really is.
Even when asked about his future at Barcelona, Torres did not try to lower expectations. When asked what the Catalans needed to do for him to stay, his message was clear: "They need to show me that they want me," and come to the negotiating table. On social media, patience began to run out.
"He's acting like he's Ronaldo Nazario at his peak," wrote one Barcelona fan, while another claimed that "that goal inflated his ego like crazy." Another fan concluded: "Too much ego, too little critical thinking." In another thread about his interview tour in the USA, it was written: "His ego is at an all-time high." The statements regarding his future were also not well received, with one fan writing: "If he's not committed to the club, let him go."
Alongside the online criticism came professional skepticism: senior Spanish journalist Ramon Besa argued that despite the winning goal in the final, Torres is "more of a quality substitute than a starter," and emphasized that in his view, Barcelona still needs a more reliable center forward.
Less than a month after the historic goal in the final, he completed a move to Paris Saint-Germain for about 50 million euros and signed until 2031. He arrived in Paris after a season of 21 goals and three assists in 49 appearances, and already at his presentation, he defined PSG as the ideal place to win his first Champions League.
