{"id":58236,"date":"2026-07-20T16:27:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/58236\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:27:44","slug":"spains-ferran-torres-scored-the-world-cup-winning-goal-four-years-ago-he-was-in-a-bottomless-pit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/58236\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain\u2019s Ferran Torres scored the World Cup winning goal\u2014four years ago, he was in a \u2018bottomless pit\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spain just won<\/a> the FIFA World Cup following a grueling match against Argentina. And it was all thanks to Ferran Torres scoring in the 106th minute, capping off a dramatic extra-time thriller. Now, he\u2019s being hailed as the hero of Spain<\/a>\u2018s triumph\u2014but just four years ago, he found himself in the biggest career rut of his life.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the Spanish forward was grappling with a mental health crisis; the then-21-year-old had hit rock bottom after his \u20ac55 million ($62.8 million) move from Manchester City to La Liga club Barcelona. Torres was struggling to handle the pressure that came with his talent\u2019s high price tag, just as he was recovering from a preseason leg injury and crushing Europa League loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself in a bottomless pit, and I could not see a way out,\u201d Torres told reporters<\/a> in 2023. \u201cIt had never happened to me before. That was the moment when I decided to work with a psychologist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost my confidence. Everything was affecting me,\u201d he continued. \u201cSeeing [a psychologist] will become increasingly normalised in football. There are weeks when I don\u2019t go and others when I go three times. We don\u2019t always talk about football, we also talk about my private life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torres credits therapy as \u201cone of the best experiences\u201d and making him stronger as a person. And his story can resonate with many; behind the trophies and multimillion-dollar contracts, many sports stars are fighting battles that most fans never see. As many as 51% of elite athletes struggle with mental health problems at some point in their lives, according to a 2020 study<\/a>. Most commonly, they\u2019re up against struggles like depression and anxiety, and may put off seeking help due to social stigma<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the 26-year-old\u2019s multimillion-dollar sports career and World Cup title is proof that prioritizing mental health doesn\u2019t derail greatness\u2014it can help unlock it.<\/p>\n

Now Torres is a World Cup champion earning millions every year<\/p>\n

Torres\u2019 rise has been a story of early ambition turned into global success, with the young forward quickly becoming one of soccer\u2019s most recognizable stars.<\/p>\n

Born in the small coastal town of Foios, Spain (right outside of Valencia), Torres was destined for the world stage from an early age. At just six years old, he joined Valencia CF\u2019s academy and made his professional debut at 17. After gaining a reputation as one of Spain\u2019s top emerging talents, he signed with Manchester City in 2020, winning both the Premier League and League Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Barcelona then paid millions to the English team to bring him back to Spain in 2022, and his high-profile transfer was followed by injuries, intense pressure, and a crisis of confidence.<\/p>\n

Torres eventually rediscovered his spark thanks to his therapist, becoming a key contributor for both Barcelona and Spain. He went on to win multiple domestic trophies, including La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup. And what is sure to be one of the highlights of his soccer career, Torres scored the winning goal for his country in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

The Gen Z footballer has also been raking in million-dollar contracts since his twenties. In 2020, Torres signed a five-year, $12 million contract transferring from Valencia to Manchester City. He spent several years on the English team before then making his return to Spain in 2022, signing a five-year deal with Barcelona for an initial \u20ac55 million ($62.8 million), with another \u20ac10 million ($11.4 million) in add-ons.<\/p>\n

Estimates put<\/a> Torres\u2019 current base salary between $6.3 million to $10 million per year\u2014or around $120,700 to $192,000 every week. It\u2019s also reported that his sizable paycheck comes with at least another \u20ac3 million ($3.4 million) in bonuses every year; and off the pitch, he\u2019s landed brand deals and partnerships with Under Armour<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spain just won the FIFA World Cup following a grueling match against Argentina. And it was all thanks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4027,22141,92,20096,23377,2742,23835,12387,23836,373,8769,18034,23378,23837,1743,17,396,23838,369,23839],"class_list":["post-58236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-argentina","tag-athletes","tag-barcelona","tag-career","tag-careers","tag-celebrities","tag-england-soccer","tag-european-soccer","tag-gen-z","tag-health","tag-jobs","tag-mental-health","tag-personal-finance","tag-professional-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-spain","tag-sports","tag-well-being","tag-world-cup","tag-young-adults"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}