Ferran Torres, born in Foios, Spain in 2000, scored the only goal of the 2026 World Cup final as Spain beat Argentina 1-0. He joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2026 for €50 million and was one of the leading scorers after matchday 1 of the Champions League.
Ferran Torres García was born on 29 February 2000 in Foios, in the Valencian Community, and joined Valencia’s youth system in 2006 at the age of six. Barcelona manager Xavi later nicknamed him “El Tiburón”, the shark. He made his senior debut for the reserve team on 15 October 2016, and scored his first senior goal on 26 August 2017 in a 4-1 win over Peralada-Girona B. After being strongly linked to Barcelona and Real Madrid, he renewed his contract in October 2017 with a release clause of €25 million.
He made his first-team debut in the Copa del Rey on 30 November 2017 and his La Liga debut on 16 December, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to play in the league. He made his Champions League debut on 23 October 2018, and on 5 November 2019 scored his first Champions League goal, in a 4-1 win over Lille, making him Valencia’s youngest goalscorer in the competition. He did not play in Valencia’s 2019 Copa del Rey final win over Barcelona, but was part of the squad.
On 4 August 2020 Manchester City signed him for a reported €23 million, giving him the number 21 shirt that David Silva had worn. He scored in his first two Champions League appearances for City and won the Premier League and EFL Cup in 2020-21, scoring a hat-trick on 14 May in a 4-3 win at Newcastle. After falling out of favour with injuries, he moved to Barcelona in December 2021 for €55 million plus add-ons.
At Barcelona he struggled at first and later spoke about having worked with a psychologist after he had “fallen into a bottomless well”. He recovered to win three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and three Supercopa de España trophies, including the domestic treble in 2024-25. He scored a hat-trick against Real Betis in January 2024, a brace in a 3-2 win at Dortmund in December 2024, and a first-half hat-trick in a 5-0 win at his former club Valencia in the Copa del Rey on 6 February 2025. In the 2025 Copa del Rey final he scored a late equaliser against Real Madrid.
In 2026 he signed for PSG for €50 million. For Spain he made his debut in 2020, and was chosen in the squads for two World Cups (2022 and 2026) and two European Championships (2020 and 2024), winning Euro 2024.
His World Cup final goal was the only goal of the game against Argentina and Lionel Messi. After matchday 1 of the Champions League he was listed among the leading scorers with three goals, alongside Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirović, according to Khel Now. PSG face Manchester City in the Etihad on Wednesday, in what will be the toughest examination yet for Torres in his new club’s colours.
Image: Ferran Torres playing for Spain at the 2026 World Cup (file photo). Photo: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
