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LONDON – FERNANDO Torres became the third most expensive player in football history when he joined Chelsea for a reported 50 million pounds ($103m) from Liverpool on Monday.

The Spain striker signed a five-year contract at Chelsea in a move described by Liverpool as a British record. The fee is bettered only by Real Madrid’s purchases of Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil playmaker Kaka in 2009.

It is a similar figure to that paid to Inter Milan by Barcelona, for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2009, a deal that sent Samuel Eto’o to the Italian team. Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez was widely recognized as being the previous most expensive signing within British football after moving from Manchester United for about 47 million pounds in 2009.

Torres spent three years at Liverpool, scoring 81 goals, but grew frustrated as the 18-time league champions struggled to keep pace with England’s leading clubs.

‘I am very happy with my transfer to Chelsea and I am looking forward very much to helping my new teammates this season and for many years to come,’ Torres said. ‘Having played against Chelsea many times since coming to England, and in some very big games I will never forget, I know there are many great players here and I will work hard to win a place in the team. I hope I can score some important goals for the supporters to enjoy this season.’

Torres’ first game for Chelsea could be against Liverpool in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, unless he features at Sunderland on Tuesday. It will be tough for Chelsea to retain their Premier League title this season – they are 10 points behind unbeaten leaders Man United with 15 games remaining. — AP