We've been saying for some time that Fernando Torres' absurdly high wages represent two separate problems. One: he's a major drain on the club's resources who doesn't produce commensurately.
Two: he is impossible to sell, because few clubs comfortable with a player of Fernando Torres' current calibre can afford to come close to his current wages. This summer, apparently, has seen Problem The Second rise with a vengeance. The club's been looking to sell him only to have the player himself scupper any potential move.
The reason, of course, is money. Fernando Torres is on a dream contract at Chelsea. The Mail are reporting that the striker pulls in £150,000 per week, previous information suggest that that's closer to £180,000. Either way, that's a rather large chunk of cash that anyone in the world would be loathe to walk away from, no matter how onerous they might find their working environment. So Torres is reportedly and perfectly reasonably refusing to walk away from that contract, demanding it in full if he's to leave the club.
Which rather puts Chelsea in a bind, because getting rid of Torres while paying most or all of his wages rather defeats the point of getting rid of Torres, who'd otherwise be at least theoretically be providing depth while sitting around on the bench. The current reports strike me as a briefing to the press from the club to increase the pressure on the wanted-away striker, but I really can't blame Torres for wanting to see out his contract. Football has made him a very, very wealthy man, and the Blues won't simply be able to magic what they owe him away.
There is an alternative possibility here: that the press is making this up to cover their tracks after a summer of Torres rumours, but to be honest that doesn't strike me as very likely. Money makes the world go round, after all, and the motivation of both parties here seems very clear: Chelsea want not to pay Torres; Torres wants to be paid. The consequences of that dispute are obvious.
