In a new book to be released later this month, Torres proclaims that Liverpool are "around the same position in the league as when I left" and he's correct. The Reds have finished in the top four just once in the past seven seasons -- hovering between sixth and eighth -- and have lifted just one trophy in that period: the 2012 League Cup.
Torres' brilliance alone would have perhaps been enough to improve Liverpool's success in that period, but he could see that the Merseyside club were not going to reclaim their status as a European powerhouse any time soon. Time was not on his side.
Time heals everything
While his departure will have prevented him from being perceived as a club great in the eyes of many Liverpool supporters, Kopites still hold Torres firmly in their hearts. The breakup may have cut deep at first but, as with everything, time heals old wounds. His recent return to Anfield proved as much.
When Torres first returned to his old stomping ground in royal blue, the reaction was far from pleasant. But, with a few years to cool off, the Kop serenaded Torres during Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher's charity match at Anfield in March 2015, with Torres initially unsure of the reaction he would receive.