Steven Gerrard will be returning to Anfield and teaming up with Fernando Torres later this month. Liverpool have confirmed Gerrard has joined Torres and other big names in the LFC Legends lineup to face Ajax Legends on March 23.
The two superstars will play in a special charity match arranged each year by the LFC Foundation. This year’s game marks Fernando Torres’ first return to Anfield since hanging up his boots in 2019, having been announced as part of the team last month.
Now, Gerrard is also confirmed to be playing alongside him as the pair look to roll back the years. They’ll be managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson, along with other Liverpool greats like Ian Rush, John Aldridge, and John Barnes.
Getting to see Gerrard and Torres in action together again will be a big highlight. The two were vital players for Liverpool until Torres made a dramatic move to Chelsea on Deadline Day in 2011. Gerrard once confessed that Torres’ departure “broke his heart” because he’d tried so hard to persuade him to stay.
On the Robbie Fowler podcast, Gerrard confessed in 2021: “‘I didn’t play with Torres long enough because he went to Chelsea and broke my heart. I was really, really gutted (when Torres left). We’re working so hard at this point to try and get as close as we can to close the gap and challenge.
He explained his frustration, saying: “At Liverpool at the time it always felt like we were taking huge strides and getting close and progressing really well, and then at a really key time and a key moment for the team and the group, a big player gets taken away and it takes time to recover from that.
“My relationship with Torres, I was getting a lot of goals at that time. I was at my peak and felt fantastic.”
He concluded: “I understand everyone’s situation is different. People have dreams and different paths and they’re not all local lads who love the club. I appreciate and respect all that, but at the same time it still hurts when someone leaves a club.”
“I’ve told Fernando that. I tried to get him to stay. I told his agent the same. They were both at Melwood but they made a decision and that decision was out of my hands. It hurt a lot.”
Torres also reflected on playing in an All-Star game back in 2015, thinking it was crucial in mending his relationship with Liverpool fans. He shared in 2019: “It was a really important day for me. I felt like at the end [of that game] we were in a good way.
(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“One of the regrets I have is the way I left the club. With time, I think I could explain the reasons. I’m really happy that every time I go anywhere in the world, I see Liverpool fans and they come to me and thank me for my time here. It should be the opposite way.
“I always thank them for the way they made me feel when I was here, and even now. I’m really proud to say I will support Liverpool forever, it doesn’t matter what happened.”
“Even when things between us were not at their best, I felt that I needed to support Liverpool. The city, fans and club will always be in my heart because it’s the way I feel and I cannot change that.”
Four years ago, Torres was due to play for Liverpool Legends before the game was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now he’ll get to turn back the clock with Gerrard alongside him on a memorable afternoon.
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This story first appeared on Radio Today