Who is Pablo Torre? Barcelona's next Iniesta
Pablo Torre joined Barcelona from Racing Santander for an initial €5 million this summer, but what else is there to know about the promising attacking midfielder?
Barca spent more than €150m on Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde in the recent transfer window, while Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Hector Bellerin were among those who also arrived at the club.
Torre's arrival might have been quite easy to miss among those big names, but the 19-year-old was already a first-team regular with Racing, a Spanish youth international who had played 56 timed for them, albeit in the third-tier.
An attacking midfielder happy to line up through the middle or cutting inside from the left, Torre was initially signed for Barcelona B, but his performances for them, and in first-team training, meaning a La Liga debut might not be too far away.
New Barcelona signing Pablo Torre scores his seventh goal of the season 💪pic.twitter.com/qf2UPK65z4
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) March 6, 2022
What position does Torre play in?
'Torre' means 'tower' in Spanish, but fortunately for the Barca youngster he has a low centre of gravity that allows him to wriggle away from opposition markers in a way which is reminiscent of Barca great Andres Iniesta.
He lined up on the right of Xavi's three-man midfield when he replaced Kessie for the last 10 minutes of Barca's 5-1 win over Viktoria Plzen earlier this month, but he would normally prefer to be on the left, and higher up the pitch, if not playing in a team that plays with an outright No.10.
How good is Torre?
Very good indeed. While it may have been easier to register 14 goals and 16 assists in all competitions in the level Racing were playing at, Torre also has five goal-involvements in eight international games with Spain's under-19s.
"We followed him for a long time," explained Barca head coach Xavi. "He's a natural talent, he can play both as a central midfielder and a winger, he can play with both feet, has great passing ability and is great at set pieces. He's a signing for the present and the future."
What clubs are interested in Torre?
Born in Soto de la Marina in the far north of Spain, Torre was previously tracked by regional giants Real Sociedad, while Real Madrid were reportedly interested in signing him before he elected to continue his development at Camp Nou.
When does Torre's contract expire?
Torre signed four-year contract with Barcelona which expires on 30 June 2026.
How old is Torre?
Born on 3 April 2003, Torre is 19 at the time of writing. He shares a birthdate with former Barca striker Maxi Lopez.
What is Torre's Instagram?
Pablo Torre's Instagram has 525K followers as of September 2022