Fernando Torres January 2006 that the club was willing to listen to offers for Torres, and Torres claimed Newcastle United of the FA Premier League had made a bid to sign him in March. Torres stated after the 2006 FIFA World Cup that he had turned down an offer to join Chelsea at the end of the 2005–06 season. He scored 14 league goals in the 2006–07 season. The English media reported that he was the main transfer target of FA Premier League club Liverpool, but Cerezo stated, "We've received no offer from Liverpool or any other club or player." Days later,
Fernando Torres April 2010, which Benítez justified by saying Torres was "exhausted". Torres made his last appearance of the season scoring twice in a 4–1 victory over Benfica in the Europa League on 8 April 2010, and it was announced on 18 April that he would miss the rest of the season to undergo knee surgery. This meant that Torres finished the season with 22 goals in 32 games in all competitions, finishing as Liverpool's top scorer for the second time. Following Roy Hodgson's appointment as Liverpool manager, Hodgson stated that Torres would not be sold by the club, saying, "He is