From Echo http://tinyurl.com/3b3stx Benitez said: "Atletico Madrid had better offers and the player had better offers." "But he always wanted to join Liverpool. That was the key for me." "We needed to work hard because there were other clubs who wanted him that we knew about - other clubs offering more money." "But the player said straight away 『I want to join Liverpool'. He said we were his first choice and that was the key for me." "He has taken a pay cut to come here. Okay he is still on a very good contract because he is a top player. But to be a successful club you need players with passion and Fernando has passion." Benitez added: "I am happy for everybody at the club, for George Gillett and Tom Hicks who agreed to sanction the deal and for Rick Parry who worked hard to make it happen." "He is a fantastic player who can score goals and will work hard for the team. I have also seen that he is a very hard worker in training sessions." "He has talent, but he can also improve." "If you analyse the figures, he was a footballer playing first team football at 17-years-old and it is very difficult to score goals consistently at that age." "Then Atletico Madrid were not a top four team and Torres was playing up front on his own." "But if you read the comments of the Madrid supporters they say he couldn't have worked any harder for the team." "To score the goals he has at his age, every season, shows he has great potential and he has the capacity to improve. I hope that at a big club surrounded by good players he will get even better." Benitez also admitted that the sale of Garcia in the opposite direction had been a sacrifice. "Luis was a fantastic player for us," he added. "He had ability and he could change a game. But it is a good move for him and his family. Atletico is a good club and we are professionals." --

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