Fernando Torres will finally complete his return to Atletico Madrid this winter, seven-and-a-half years after departing the Vicente Calderon.
Just a few days prior to the official opening of the January transfer window, the striker took to his official Twitter account to confirm his comeback:
"At last back home. Thanks to all that have made this dream come true. Forza @Atleti. #TorresHaVuelto"
Atleti's official Twitter account confirmed the Spaniard will return to his boyhood club just a few days after Milan officially acquire his signature on permanent terms, when the Italian window opens:
" A tweet we were wishing to post! It’s official! @Torres will wear the read and white again! #TorresIsBack"
Torres hasn't featured as a regular scoring fixture at any club since departing Anfield in January 2011, enduring three-and-a-half troubled years with Chelsea before making his Milan move.
In the wake of his Atletico announcement on Monday, Torres spoke of his delight to return to his origins, as well as elaborating on where it went wrong at the San Siro:
"The transfer to Milan was a new challenge for me. They showed me that they needed me, that they wanted to use me as a key player. But after a few months the situation changed. The Coach decided to make use of different players and I didn't find what I was looking for when I left England.
If you're looking for something and you don't find it, you've got to keep looking. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Milan, who allowed me to leave. I thought I was important for Milan, but things went differently. Now, there is no better place than Atletico. I’m going to Atletico in search of happiness. As a child my dream was to play for Atletico and to go back now is another dream I’ve completed.
People know it’s my home and I’ve felt the sadness at their defeats and also the joy of their successes. I’ve jumped off the couch at them and nobody can doubt how I’ll feel when I pull on that shirt again. The Atletico fans always ask that you leave everything out on the pitch and I can assure them I’ll be doing that and much more."
Torres has managed only one goal in 10 Serie A appearances for the Rossoneri, while Cerci has made just six La Liga appearances for Los Rojiblancos, none of which have been as part of the starting XI.
It's for this reason that some fail to see the value in Atletico re-signing Torres, who will compete against Mario Mandzukic for the main striking spot in Madrid. However, Simeone will hope the best-case scenario is to see the 30-year-old return to his former scoring heights which, given his age, is far from impossible and at the very least gives him another option up front.
It's an emotional reunion for Los Rojiblancos as much as anything else at this stage, but the Spanish league champions may yet come to coax the best football back out of their former prodigy during his loan stay.