The secret of Ferran Torres

BarcelonaIf there's one thing Ferran Torres can't be denied, it's the gift of resilience. In three and a half seasons at Barça, he's overcome injuries and long periods of lack of confidence to re-emerge, often as a substitute, through goals. Although he's never fully established himself as a starter, the forward from Foios (Valencia) has managed to find his place in the highly-valued Barça forward line and become a regular in the Spanish national team squad.

Ferran is in top form and returns to the Metropolitano today (9:30 p.m., La 1 de RTVE), where he scored a brace a couple of weeks ago. In fact, he's scored in three consecutive La Liga matches and has equaled his best run as a Barça player in the competition: he also scored in three consecutive matches in March 2022. Indeed, Barça's number 7 is enjoying his best moment as a professional. With 15 goals and three assists in 34 games, he has surpassed his personal best, which still dated back to his time at Manchester City. In England, in the 2020-21 season he scored 13 goals and provided three assists in 36 games. As a Barça player, his best season was last year, with 11 goals and three assists in 42 appearances.

In fact, despite last year's eventful season – the team did not win any titles and Xavi Hernández was sacked – it was during the 2023-24 campaign that Ferran earned the nickname shark. It was long before things started to go wrong. In the preseason, the pseudonym of sharkBarça, his teammates, and he himself fueled that nickname on social media. Ferran personally asked Xavi to stay at Barça that summer, just as before the start of this season, when Hansi Flick sent him a message to say hello, he told the German he was confident he'd help the team (he has a contract until 2027).

Only Leo Messi and Julio Salinas surpass him.

Ferran, who started only eleven of the 34 matches he played in, has earned the label of "revolutionary force" and is the player in La Liga who has scored the second most goals coming off the bench, with nine, surpassed only by Sorloth (Atlético de Madrid), who has ten. If you look at Barça's overall history, Ferran, with 15 goals starting matches as a substitute, has the pride of occupying third place among the players who have scored the most in that capacity. Only Leo Messi (39) and Julio Salinas (19) have more.

Furthermore, he is the player in the five major European leagues with the best goal-per-minute ratio (with at least five goals). According to data provided by Opta Sports, a leading service in the sector, Ferran scores every 81 minutes, thus surpassing other scorers such as Gonçalo Ramos of PSG (82'); Real Madrid's Endrick (83'); PSG's Dembélé (84'); Bayer Leverkusen's Schick (85'); and Barcelona's Lewandowski (86').

As for his routine, Ferran is quite methodical with the nutritional, physical, and rest guidelines set by the club. He also supplements his Barça workouts with private professionals. He has a sauna and a cold-water bath installed at home to help with muscle recovery. He also continues to work with a psychologist. The Barça striker sought out a mental health professional when he experienced his darkest moments at Barça, when he became obsessed with personal performance that wasn't quite there: "It wasn't me, I hit rock bottom." A time now forgotten by a striker who, under Flick, has achieved his best offensive figures as a professional. And the season isn't even over yet.