According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are not the only club who have met Atletico Madrid’s asking price for their skipper Fernando Torres, but Manchester City and Serie A champions Inter Milan are also in the race.

City with the prospective new owner Thaksin Shinawatra promising a transfer kitty of £50million to the manager-elect Sven-Goran Eriksson, are reportedly keen to get back to their glory days of the past and as such are trying to bring big-name signings to the City of Manchester Stadium this summer.

However, it is highly unlikely that the 23-year-old Spain striker could move to City with the Reds known to be interested in him for quite some time now.

Moreover, Spanish press have almost suggested Torres will don the Liverpool shirt next season as Rafa Benitez is on the verge of completing the big-money signing once the talismanic striker nicknamed ‘The Kid’ returns from holiday next week. It is also claimed that the Reds midfielder Luis Garcia is destined to return to La Liga at Atletico although the move is reportedly not interlinked with that of Torres.

Inter could meanwhile look to bring Torres to Italy as their earlier target Carlos Tevez of West Ham United is reportedly keen to stay in the Premiership.