Demba Ba has warned Fernando Torres he must leave Chelsea to find happiness.
Former Chelsea striker Ba spent 18 months at Stamford Bridge but claimed he
finally quit this summer because playing regularly is more important to him
than making big money.
Torres, 30, has still got two years left on his ￡170,000-a-week contract
with the Blues and a potential loan move to AC Milan could be under threat
because he does not want to take a drop in wages.
The Spaniard’s lawyers have flown to London to try to thrash out a move to
AC Milan, which can go ahead now Jose Mourinho knows his new star striker
Diego Costa will return from his hamstring injury after the impending
international break.
Torres' boyhood club Atletico Madrid are also keen to take him on loan.
Ba - now with Turkish side Besiktas - says that, wherever the destination,
Torres should leave Chelsea to get his career back on track after two and a
half torturous years following a British record ￡50m move from Liverpool.
“I wish Fernando the best, I just wish he is going to find happiness," said
Ba. "It will be hard (to find it at Chelsea). I don’t know where he will be
happy but I just want him to have happiness because he is a nice guy.
“It is difficult, because what I like to do is play football. It’s hard
when you are always on the bench but you just have to keep your head up and
work hard.
“Of course it’s more important to play. People think footballers are happy
to just take money, but we are in training every day, every single day we are
working hard.
“People only see the 90 minutes we play at the weekend and they see the
money we are spending. Of course we have a lot of money but if we have the
money it is because the money is there.
“People love football, for me it is the first sport in the world. People
love it and of course there is a lot of money in it. Of course we are happy
to make a lot of money and of course a lot of people would love to be in our
position, but they are not because they do not have the quality to be there.
“I could have stayed. I would have had a better position this season because
I spoke to Jose and he was impressed with the end of the season I had. He
told me I would have a better position this season, but I just wanted to go
and enjoy.”
Torres - who didn't even make the 18-man squad for the game against Leicester
last Saturday - now finds himself facing a huge dilemma over whether to stay
and just make the occasional appearance or to move on.
Former West Ham and Newcastle striker Ba also revealed he had wanted to join
Arsenal and that a loan deal was close last year, as we reported - until
Mourinho blocked it.
Ba explained the Special One told him he would not stop him going to the
Blues' London rivals this summer - but he went to Besiktas for ￡4m when, if
he had waited, he might have proved just what the Gunners need now with
Olivier Giroud out injured for months.
“Last summer he wanted to keep me, but he said this time if I had any
opportunity he would let me go," said Ba. “I came close before, but it’s
past. I just look forward.
"Even when I was in Chelsea, everybody knew that I wanted to come to Arsenal.
It’s not a secret to anyone. It was the club, back in the day, that I was
supporting and I would watch Thierry Henry play.
“I could have maybe waited longer in this transfer window, but I wanted to
go and play for Besiktas because it’s a great club.”