The Atletico Madrid player was photographed shopping in the gift shop of city rival Real Madrid. A fan shared the photo on Twitter, causing a stir among Atletico Madrid fans, the Telegraph reports.
Torres immediately apologized for committing the double faux-pas of entering the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and shopping in Real's store. The 17-year-old took to Twitter to explain himself.
"I needed football boots in an emergency, don't doubt the Atletico [fan] that I am," he wrote.
Atletico head coach Diego Simeone is a veteran of some of the biggest intra-city derbies in world soccer. He's played or coached in heated contests in Rome, Milan, Buenos Aires and, of course, Madrid. Simeone hopes the flack Torres is catching will help him "grow and understand his surroundings … and be more careful."
The talented playmaker Torres is one of Spanish soccer's brightest prospects. He led Spain to the the U-19 European Championship last month. On Sunday, he made his La Liga debut, playing the last 27 minutes of Atletico's 1-1 draw with Levante.
Chelsea FC reportedly made an offer to sign Torres last month, but Atletico is not interested in letting him go. He still has a lot to learn, including how to stay in the good graces of the fans. It will be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets when he takes the field at Atletico's Vicente Calderon Stadium. That could happen as soon as Monday when Atletico Madrid meets Athletic Bilbao in La Liga action.
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Photo via Twitter/@RumoFutbol