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Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer 5y

Toe Poke Daily: Torres says goodbye with final match against Iniesta

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Torres says goodbye with final match against Iniesta

Fernando Torres called time on his days as a professional footballer on Friday with the final game of his illustrious 18-year career ending in a 6-1 defeat.

Perhaps fittingly, Torres faced former Spain teammate Andres Iniesta one last time when Sagan Tosu played Vissel Kobe in the J.League. Less fittingly, Torres was on the end of a heavy loss.

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Ahead of the encounter, Iniesta bade a fond farewell to the striker with an emotional open letter published in El Mundo newspaper.

"Football brought us together more than 20 years ago, when we were children -- well, you will always be El Nino! -- and it will never separate us," Iniesta wrote. "It's been a wonderful journey. It has taken us to every corner of the world. And look where we are today. In Tosu, you and I are playing a football match. One more.

"Enjoy everything that comes to you now and be happy. But how strange, Fernando. You haven't left yet and I miss you already."

The game brought plenty of tributes for the striker, but it didn't go so well on the pitch as Tosu found themselves 3-0 down after 22 minutes with Iniesta even scoring a penalty. Two goals after half-time from Kyogo Furuhashi made it 5-0 before Thomas Vermaelen's own goal consolation, then a late goal from Hotaru Yamaguchi ensured it was a pretty bad send-off for El Nino.

Tosu held a retirement ceremony for Torres after the game, but there's no word as yet if they are planning to extend that to the rest of the XI.

Torres might not have enjoyed his final game, but here's our look back at some of his best moments to cheer him up.

Ronaldo makes Amazon fire gaffe

Cristiano Ronaldo joined concerned onlookers around the world by desperately trying to draw attention to the fires currently destroying vast areas of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

The Juventus star tweeted a statement of solidarity, imploring everybody to realise that it is our collective responsibility to protect the planet from such disasters. However, rather than an image of the Amazon, Ronaldo accidentally attached a photo of a 2013 fire at the Taim Ecological Station in Rio Grande do Sul, down in the south of Brazil.

Over 16 hours later and the image hasn't been amended. Still, the overall sentiment is the important thing.

Maguire shares memories of Man United

Harry Maguire has shared memories of a past encounter with Manchester United, long before he sealed his £80m transfer to the club last month.

Indeed, the central defender posted a photo of the teamsheet from the 2011 FA Youth Final which saw his Sheffield United team pitted against the Red Devils.

Oddly, the game saw him up against future teammates Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard.

Alas, it didn't go well for Maguire, with the Blades ultimately finding themselves on the wrong end of a 4-1 drubbing at Old Trafford.

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