Torres and Chelsea were never destined to remain hitched to remain hitched

But Blues fans will always have fond memories of his biggest goals

For Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the classic 1942 film Casablanca, it was a case of "we'll always have Paris."

For Fernando Torres and Chelsea fans, it will be "we'll always have Barcelona."

Both relationships had flickering moments of fire and passion but ultimately were two love affairs doomed to failure.

In January 2011, Chelsea broke the British transfer record by shelling out $77.75 million on Liverpool striker Torres who ended his days at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when the Londoners announced the loan switch he made to AC Milan in August would become a permanent move on Jan 5.

One of his first scoring attempts in his debut for the Londoners, a 30-yard effort against Liverpool that sailed high and wide, symbolized the Torres' trials and tribulations over the next three years.

It took the Spanish international 14 games and a host of near misses to notch his first goal, but although it was joyously acclaimed by the Stamford Bridge faithful, his strike against West Ham United turned out to be his only one for Chelsea all season.

The following campaign was only marginally better for the blond forward, who helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 and 2012, and he said he was indebted to the fans for their unstinting show of support during the worst spell of his career.

"Since I joined Chelsea the fans have been amazing to me," Torres told the club's in-house television channel in February 2012. "It has been very important to have the fans behind me.

"At the beginning of the season I went through the hardest moments of my career. I went several games without being in the starting lineup and I've never been in that situation before."

Torres said he experienced one of his best moments when the supporters kept cheering his name while he was on the bench for a 3-0 home Premier League win over the Wolverhampton Wanderers three months earlier.

"That game against Wolverhampton showed me there is something very important to fight for, the love of the fans," he said.

"I've never had that feeling from supporters before and I wasn't even on the pitch."

Torres could always rely on the backing of the Chelsea followers and, although that faith was only sporadically rewarded, when it was it came in spectacular fashion.

Sublime hat-trick

He scored a sublime hat-trick in a 6-1 home rout of neighbor Queens Park Rangers and will never be forgotten for his goal at Camp Nou in the semifinals of the 2012 Champions League.

Having had captain John Terry banished in the first half of the second leg, the Londoners had to withstand wave after wave of Barcelona attacks.

Then suddenly Torres ran half the length of the field before rounding keeper Victor Valdes to fire the ball into an empty net and send eventual champion Chelsea through to the final.

A year later the Spaniard scored an almost identical goal in Amsterdam to help beat Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final.

That 2012-13 season, half of which Torres spent working under his former Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez, was his best in Chelsea blue. He scored 23 goals in 64 games and seven different competitions, a club record.

While Torres enjoyed some great highs during his time in west London, his Chelsea career will still be looked upon largely as a failure.

He was sent off three times and his tally of 46 goals in 172 games represents a stunning fall from grace compared to 81 goals in 142 matches for Liverpool and 38 strikes in 110 games for Spain.

The fans were consistent in their support of Torres throughout his time at Chelsea but a tipping point in the relationship came in the semi-finals of last season's Champions League.

Torres refused to celebrate the goal he scored in the second leg against his former club Atletico Madrid and when he was taken off in the second period, he turned to salute the fans of the Spanish team.

It was an act that did not go unnoticed among the Chelsea faithful, but when they look back on his career at Stamford Bridge they will always treasure that special moment at Camp Nou.

(China Daily 12/29/2014 page23)