Jamie Carragher confesses how Liverpool ended up getting £50m for 'not great' Fernando Torres

Jamie Carragher has disclosed that Liverpool cleverly inserted a £50million release clause in Fernando Torres' contract despite being aware the striker was no longer at his peak

a move that later proved very lucrative. Torres became a fan favourite at Anfield with his thrilling displays after arriving from Atletico Madrid for £25million in 2007.

Yet, he left the Liverpool faithful stunned when he switched to Chelsea on transfer deadline day in January 2011.

Carragher has now shed light on the transfer and the moment he realised "the deal was done"

Carragher also acknowledged that Torres had lost his edge before his high-profile move to Chelsea, due to injury woes.

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Despite high hopes from Chelsea fans, Torres failed to replicate his Liverpool form at Stamford Bridge

Carragher was questioned about Liverpool's knowledge of Torres' decline before approving his departure.

Carragher

“We were watching him every day in training and he wasn't the same player, physically or mentally,"

"He started getting injuries in his second season at Liverpool but he still did really well, then in his third season he was not the same player."

A change in manager then proved crucial in Torres' move to the west London.

Carragher added:

“Rafa (Benitez) goes and Roy Hodgson comes in and he was just in a different headspace.

“He wasn't great, but what happened was when he signed his contract Liverpool put a release clause in his contract for £50million, which was massive money then,"

“When we were getting the £50million for Torres we were like, 'wow, they're not getting the Torres we know'. We knew that at the time,"

Torres notched up many memorable moments against his future club during his Liverpool tenure

His initial goal for the Reds came apart against the Blues and he tallied seven strikes in total across his three and a half years at Anfield

Yet, for Liverpool fans, none were as conflicting as his parting double - an act Carragher insists sealed the monumental deal.

Carragher said

"He'd always scored against Chelsea and Chelsea were desperate for him and the only good game he had that season was against Chelsea,"

“We beat Chelsea 2-0 at home under Roy Hodgson and Torres scored two, and that was like 'the deal was done'."