Spanish striker Fernando Torres admits he is enjoying life at Liverpool so much as he could lead a normal life in Merseyside.
In Madrid he became a prisoner in his own home, the demands of being Atlético Madrid’s talisman compounded by the fact that the rest of the city wanted him to fail and did little to mask their antipathy.
Liverpool lives and breathes football just the same, yet the pressure off the pitch is not as suffocating for Torres, his wife Olalla and four-month old daughter Nora.
"I am really relaxed here," Torres told The Express.
"I couldn’t do almost anything in Madrid when I was there. Madrid is a big city and I wasn’t playing for the strongest team, so 80 percent of the people there are Real (Madrid) fans.
"It was hard just to walk or go to a restaurant or the cinema because people do not have the same respect there that they do here for players. Normally I was at home, but if I went somewhere with friends it was really difficult.
"Here in Liverpool, I can do almost everything I want to do. I can walk in the park, or go to Albert Dock.
"People recognise you, but they have a lot of respect for a player, so the quality of life is the main thing for me.
"They wish me luck, but in Spain they surround you and you can’t do anything."
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In Madrid he became a prisoner in his own home, the demands of being Atlético Madrid’s talisman compounded by the fact that the rest of the city wanted him to fail and did little to mask their antipathy.
Liverpool lives and breathes football just the same, yet the pressure off the pitch is not as suffocating for Torres, his wife Olalla and four-month old daughter Nora.
"I am really relaxed here," Torres told The Express.
"I couldn’t do almost anything in Madrid when I was there. Madrid is a big city and I wasn’t playing for the strongest team, so 80 percent of the people there are Real (Madrid) fans.
"It was hard just to walk or go to a restaurant or the cinema because people do not have the same respect there that they do here for players. Normally I was at home, but if I went somewhere with friends it was really difficult.
"Here in Liverpool, I can do almost everything I want to do. I can walk in the park, or go to Albert Dock.
"People recognise you, but they have a lot of respect for a player, so the quality of life is the main thing for me.
"They wish me luck, but in Spain they surround you and you can’t do anything."
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